Shepard's Sunset
by BrowncoatBrony11
Summary: Twenty years after the Reaper War, Shepard finds someone that will change her and Garrus' life forever. Four months after the Anon-A-Miss incident Sunset as finally started to trust her friends again. But she still feels like something is missing.
1. Chapter 1: First Meeting

It was quiet as Shepard walked down the street. Quieter than it had been for her in a long time. No fans hoping to get an autograph. No reporters begging for the next big story. No worshipers trying to be blessed. That last one creeped her out. She wasn't a god to be worshiped. She was a human. A skilled and very lucky human, who just happened to be at the right place at the right time

Shepard shook her head at that last thought. She looked at the buildings around her. In contrast to the shiny new skyscrapers that loomed above, this part of the city looked old and worn down. Most areas had to be rebuilt after the Reapers tried to burn Earth, but this section somehow escaped most of that.

Granted, no one had ever really used these buildings. The fact that they hadn't been torn down a long time ago was a miracle in and of itself. Plenty of vagrants and runaways used the building as a shelter, though. They had for as long a Shepard remembered. Some of these people were out and about just trying to live their daily lives. Shepard ignored them. She was on a mission.

She stopped in front of a large warehouse structure at the end of the block. She smiled as she touched the door frame, memories rushing through her. She opened the door, which squeaked loudly, and walked inside. The large storage area of the warehouse greeted her. Rows of old decaying boxes sat there, forgotten and abandoned. Metal shelves lined the walls carrying various odds and ends.

The door at the opposite end of the room that led to the offices stood slightly ajar. She moved towards the door, occasionally looking into the boxes along the way. When she reached the door and opened it, she was so lost in her memories that she almost didn't notice the fist flying towards her face in time to dodge.

The owner of said fist was a girl in her teens. She was slightly shorter than Shepard with a leather biker jacket that covered a dark purple shirt and a pair of jeans. Her red and yellow hair spun around her head as she tried to throw another punch at Shepard. Shepard deftly caught the fist and held it in place. The girl struggled against Shepard for a moment before stopping to glare at her with cyan eyes. "You done there Rocky? Or do you want to go for another round," Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girl continued to glare at Shepard for a few second before sighing and slumping her shoulders. "Yeah I'm done," she said.

"Good," Shepard said releasing her. The girl backed away and rubbed her wrist where she had been grabbed.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked, again glaring at Shepard as she waited for an answer

Shepard moved around her to look into the old office space. A makeshift bed laid in a corner. A small pile of books laid beside it, "I could ask you the same question."

"I asked first," the girl said, hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.

"True, you did," Shepard turned to face the girl. "I actually used to live here a long time ago." She turned back to the bed,"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that's what you're doing now."

The girl looked like she was going to deny it for a moment but quickly gave in. "Yeah, I have been for a couple years now," she admitted.

Shepard gave an appreciative nod,"Impressive, how'd you keep the others from trying to take it from you?"

The girl grimaced just slightly before crossing an arm across her midsection,"It's a long story."

Shepard stared at her for a moment before responding,"You want some food? You look hungry."

"I don't even know your name and you're offering me food?" The glare was back along with the crossed arms. "How stupid do you think I am?" she snapped

"Good point," said Shepard with a smile. She stuck her hand out to the girl. "Name's Shepard, Allana Shepard." The girl stood stunned for a moment as she stared at Shepard. She shakily extended her own hand to grasp Shepards. "Do you have a name," Shepard asked.

"S-Sunset, Sunset Shimmer," she stammered.

Shepard released Sunset's hand after a quick shake. "That's a nice name," Shepard said. She gestured towards the door and asked, "Now do you want some food?" Sunset nodded and followed Shepard out.

The cafe they found was small and quaint. Wooden chairs and tables filled the space not taken by a large windowed counter towards the back. Bread and pastries lined the shelves inside the counter and behind it. Shepard opened the door and allowed Sunset to walk in first. She smiled graciously at the older women though the rest of her body was tense like she expected to burst into flames at any moment.

A woman appeared behind the counter through a door that led further back. "Hello, and welcome to Old Town Cafe. How can I help you?" she asked.

Shepard and Sunset walked to the counter," Well, we've never been here before so what do you suggest," Shepard asked.

"Our cinnamon twists are very popular and I've been told we have excellent coffee," the woman said.

"Alright We'll have two twists and I'll have some of your coffee," Shepard turned to Sunset. "You want anything to drink?"

"Coffee is fine," Sunset said.

Shepard paid and the woman handed them two pastries wrapped in waxed paper,"Ok dearies, I'll have the coffees out in a moment." Shepard and Sunset found a table and sat down.

They ate in silence for a while before Shepard spoke up. "So you mentioned you had been at the warehouse for a couple years. Where did you stay before that?"

"Foster home," Sunset said after a pause. "I ran away a few years ago and ended up here."

"Ah, bad home I'm guessing?" Shepard probed.

Sunset looked down into her plate shame etched into her face," No, she was great actually. I just… I don't know."

They were interrupted when the coffee arrived and the woman that served them spoke up," Excuse me, I'm sorry, but, are you, Commander Shepard?"

Shepard leaned back and smiled," Yes I am, though it's Admiral Shepard now."

The woman smiled as well and stuck out her hand, "I'm Molly Evans and I just want to thank you for everything you did."

Shepard shook her hand," Just did what had to be done, ma'am."

"I know, but still, thank you," Molly turned and left leaving Shepard and Sunset alone again.

"Does that happen often?" Sunset asked.

Shepard shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, depends on where I go. Closer to the middle of the city it feels like I can't escape sometimes." Shepard smirked, "Although no one goes near my house anymore. Not after Wrex threatened to shoot them with his shotgun… multiple times."

Sunset smiled and laughed a bit at that, "So you said you lived in the warehouse before, but I don't remember reading anything about that?"

Shepard laughed, "Yeah the Alliance brass didn't think it would be a good idea for the 'Savior of the Galaxy' to be homeless at sixteen. The only thing they put through was the fact that I was an orphan born on Earth."

Sunset's brow furrowed, "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah," Shepard took a sip of her coffee. "So where do you go to school?"

"Canterlot High," Sunset offered.

"You have any friends there?" Shepard asked.

A look of hurt flashed across Sunsets face for a second before she answered, "Yeah they're... great."

Shepard raised an eyebrow,"I sense a 'but' in there."

Sunset grimaced and sighed. She took a drink of her coffee, "Well, I uh, I used to be really mean to them. I've changed since then and we are all really great friends now. But recently a person got on the school's social media site and started spreading some secrets around and my friends quickly blamed me. We eventually found the culprits, but it still hurts."

"That's rough, but at least you all are still friends right?" Shepard said taking another sip of her coffee.

Sunset nodded, "Yeah it just..."

"Takes time to heal," Shepard offered.

Sunset nodded again. She looked down at her watch and suddenly gasped, "Oh no I'm going to be late. I even pinkie promised."

"What?" Shepard asked confused by Sunsets panic.

"I'm supposed to meet my friends in a few minutes to finish a project and I left my stuff at the warehouse," She stood up quickly, spinning in place for a moment as she made sure she had everything she brought with her before she tried to bolt for the door.

Shepard stood up as well before stopping Sunset, "Woah, hold on there, my aircar isn't far from here. I can take you to the warehouse then drop you off with your friends. Ok."

Sunset stared at Shepard bewildered. Slowly she calmed down before saying, "Yeah, that'd be great."

Shepard smiled, "Great let's go then."

With Shepard's aircar, it didn't take long to swing by the warehouse then head to Sunset's friends. She directed Shepard to a large orchard a few miles out of town. Shepard landed the aircar in front of a large farmhouse in the middle of the orchard. "Thanks," Sunset said as she moved to get out of the car. Shepard put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"Wait a minute," Shepard said. "You got a place to stay tonight?"

Sunset gave Shepard a questioning look before responding, "Uh, yeah, we're finishing up the project tonight and staying over so we can all help bring it in tomorrow."

"Good," Shepard smiled before continuing. "Just wanted to make sure."

"O...K?" Sunset said still giving Shepard a questioning look. She got out of the car and walked to the house. Shepard stayed out long enough to see a pink blur shoot out of the house and nearly tackle Sunset to the ground. Shepard chuckled to herself as she brought the car into the air and headed home.


	2. Chapter 2: Talking and Planning

Sunset Shimmer sighed loudly as she collapsed onto her friend Applejack's couch. Her arms were spread haphazardly out, taking up as much room as the other occupant of the couch would allow. Rarity had laid down taking up the other two seats.

The other four girls took up varying areas in the large room. Applejack had taken a seat near the left side of the couch close to Sunset. While Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had taken the other side nearest Rarity and had brought in two chairs from the dining room.

Rainbow Dash meanwhile had chosen to simply lie on the floor. She layed face down in the carpet with the only movement coming from her sides as she continued to breathe. Eventually she mumbled into the carpet.

"Rainbow Dash, darling," Rarity said. "If you want us to hear you, you'll have to lift your head up."

Rainbow lifted her head up slightly before speaking, "So… tired." Her head flopped back down onto the floor, gaining a small amount of laughter from the other girls.

"Aw, come on Rainbow, it ain't that bad," Applejack said. "Feels no diff'rent than ah hard day's work tah me."

Rainbow turned and glared at Applejack. "Yeah, well first off," She said bringing her arm into the air with one finger extended before it flopped back down onto the ground. "You're used to it, we aren't. And second." Rainbow's arm shot up again with two fingers this time, "Generally, a hard days work takes up, like a whole day, not an hour and a half."

"Ah think ya just need tah toughen up some," Applejack retorted with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah! Well," Rainbow started to sit up continuing to glare at the farmer, "Screw-"

"Ahem!" Rarity interjected loud enough to cut off Rainbow. "I do find it odd," She continued in a softer tone, "While I may not be as active as Applejack or Rainbow Dash, normally I have a bit more endurance then this."

"It's the magic," Sunset said as she sat up slightly, "Or more specifically the fact that your bodies aren't used to channeling magic for long periods. It's like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes."

"But if that's true then why are you tired?" Pinkie asked. "If magic is a muscle, shouldn't you be way less tired than us?"

"I haven't done any serious magic in a longtime. Plus, this," Sunset gestured at herself, "Isn't my original body. Technically it's younger then any of yours by about twelve years."

"So… technically you're only four years old?" Before anyone could respond Pinkie jumped into the air and screamed, "YES! I'M NOT THE YOUNGEST ANYMORE!"

"However," Sunset interjected, "I was nearing my twenties when I left Equestria so I'm around twenty two-ish."

"Aw shoot," Pinkie whined as she flopped back down in her chair, causing the other girls to chuckle softly.

After the chuckling died down, Applejack spoke up. "So not tryin' to be picky or anythin' but, ya said ya hadn't done any serious magic in a few years?" Applejack asked turning to Sunset.

Sunset sighed softly before speaking, "I've been able to perform small amounts of magic for a while now. It's how I was able to become the queen of the school' before Twilight showed up." She laughed softly to herself before continuing. "That's the only reason I was able to destroy you guy's friendship so easily."

The five girls all stared at sunset for a moment. Rainbow broke the silence saying, "So, you used magic to break us up?"

Sunset nodded before speaking, "Just small spells on your phone to keep you from questioning things." Sunset moved to the edge of the couch, folded her hands together then continued, "I knew if any of you questioned each other you would figure out what was going on."

'Well, it's all in the past darling," Rarity said as she sat up and moved towards Sunset wrapping her up in a hug. "We've forgiven you a long time ago for what happened in the past." The rest of the group all nodded along with Rarity's statement, each of them smiling at Sunset.

Sunset gave Rarity a small smile as she was released from the hug. "Thanks guys, honestly, I'm not really worried about that anymore."

"Well, what are ya worried about then?" Applejack asked. "No matter what it is we're here for ya Sunset."

Sunset opened her mouth to respond however Pinkie jumped up once again nearly landing on Rainbow in the process, "Oh, oh! Does it have to do with Commander Shepard giving you a ride here today?"

Four sets of eyes turned to Sunset who sheepishly nodded. Rainbow quickly hopped up on her feet knocking Pinkie over before speaking, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You actually met Commander Shepard?"

Again Sunset nodded then added, "Though it is Admiral Shepard now."

Rainbow was nearly vibrating at this point, her entire body was tensed up and her face had seemingly collapsed into itself. Before Rainbow could do anything Pinkie had once again bounced back up and shoved a pillow into Rainbow's face stating, "Here scream into this!"

The smothered girl's arms flailed slightly before she managed to push the pillow off her face. "What the heck Pinkie," Rainbow said once she caught her breath.

Pinkie simply shrugged letting the pillow drop to the floor. "What? I do that all the time. Keeps me from being too loud," she stated.

"I didn't know you could be too loud Pinks," Sunset said, smirking slightly.

"Yeah, I mostly do it at home. Maud says I disturb Boulder too much," Pinkie said. The five girls stared at their pick haired friend. She smiled nervously at the combined stare and held her hands up in a confused gesture, "What?"

"Gettin' back on track here," Applejack said purposely, turning towards Sunset. "Why are ya worried 'bout the Commander bringin' ya here exactly?"

"Because," Sunset took a deep breath taking a moment to steady herself, "Because she didn't just give me a ride. She also bought me coffee and we talked for a little bit." Sunset ran her hands through her hair as it started to fray at the ends. "She was asking all these questions, like where I went to school, if I had friend, where I lived before." Sunset stood up and started pacing back and forth between the couch and Rainbow Dash. "What if she looks me up? What if she decides to drop by the school? What if she finds out about magic? We've all worked hard to keep this a secret to protect Equestria and the portal, but this could ruin all of that."

Applejack stood up and grabbed Sunset by the shoulders, stopping her quickly, "Hey, whoa there Sunset, I think you're makin' a mountain outta a molehill here. It'll all be fine."

"You can't-" Sunset started.

"Listen here Sugarcube, ya'll haven't grown up with stories about Shepard the galactic hero. We have. And from those stories I think we can all safely say that it'll be fine." Applejack let go of Sunset before continuing. "Honestly we can't keep this up fer much longer. Considering Shepard's the one who united the galaxy. I think it'd be a good idea to clue her in if she gets curious."

"I agree," Rarity chimed in, "And I think the rest of us would agree." There was varying degrees of agreement from the other three girls.

Sunset bowed her head, "You're right, You're all right. It's just hard not to worry sometimes."

"That's understandable," Fluttershy said softly.

Sunset smiled at Fluttershy before she sat down again next to Rarity who gave her a small hug. Applejack, however, stayed standing, a small frown on her face. "Now I don't wanna sound nitpicky like Rarity here," she said, gaining a snort of indignation from Rarity. "But why, exactly, would where you were livin' before come up?"

Sunset paled significantly as she suddenly found the floor very interesting, "I…Um…"

Applejack's frown deepened, "What's goin' on Sunset? What ain'tcha tellin' us?"

Sunset continued to stare at the floor and started to tremble. Rarity squeezed her tighter trying to comfort the unusually meek girl. Finally she looked up and spoke in a soft voice, "She… she found me at the… warehouse where… I've been staying."

The reaction among the girls was simultaneous. Rarity let go of Sunset, her mouth wide open, as she stared at the flame haired girl. Rainbow clenched her fists over and over as she stared at the ground. Pinkie's hair had deflated and her eyes were starting to water while Fluttershy had simply started crying. Applejack meanwhile walked out of the room not saying a word. Eventually Rainbow broke the silence, "Why?" Rainbow looked up and stared directly at Sunset, "Why didn't you tell us anything?"

"I didn't want to worry anyone," Sunset answered.

"Sunset, we're your friends!" Rainbow shouted as she threw her arms into the air. "We're supposed to worry about each other and help each other, not keep secrets like this!"

Sunset stood up and was about to respond when Applejack walked back into the room. "Ah called Big Mac. He'll be here soon with the truck so we can go get your stuff," she said.

"Listen, you guys don't have to-" Sunset started.

"Like hell we don't!" Rainbow said. "Listen up Shimmer, we aren't going to just let you go back to some damn warehouse."

"I'm fine," Sunset shouted, "I've been fine for four years now, I can handle myself!"

Rainbow was about to respond but Applejack interjected before anything else could be said, "It ain't about handlin' yourself Sunset. We all know ya can. It's about the fact that you ain't alone anymore."

"You've said that before," Sunset said, a cold edge to her tone.

Applejack took a step back, her eyes wide like she had just been slapped. Her eyes then softened and she spoke softly, "Ah know Sugarcube, and no amount of sayin' we're sorry can really fix that." She took a step forward determinably, "But, we're not gonna just let this continue. Not when we can do something about it."

"I…you…," Sunset fell back onto the couch. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she drew into herself. "I don't want to be alone again," She said softly.

Fluttershy got up and walked over to the couch sitting between Rarity and Sunset. She quickly pulled Sunset into an embrace. "We aren't going anywhere, Sunset," She said continuing to comfort Sunset. "We all feel bad about what happened. Let us show you how much you mean to us by helping you."

Sunset sat, silent for a moment. Tears were threatening to fall down her face as she fought to control her emotions. Eventually she got control of herself and spoke softly, "Ok."

Applejack nodded, "Good, Ah wasn't gonna take no fer an answer anyway."

Sunset snorted once in amusement, "Shoulda figured that shouldn't of I?"

"Eeyup," Applejack drawled.

Sunset smiled and the other girls took this as a sign to relax, most of them returning to their spots around the room. Except for Fluttershy, who refused to let go of Sunset.

"So, did you tell Twilight yet about Commander Shepard?" Rainbow asked after a long silence in an effort to steer the conversation back to the war hero.

Sunset shook her head, "No, haven't had time. I will though. If the she starts asking questions I want Twilight to be prepared."

"That's probably for the best," Rarity said. "After all Twilight's and Sunset's home is on the other side of that statue. If for some reason the portal gets damaged you both suffer. I'd rather give her a heads up in case anyone gets curious."

"Oh! Until we know for sure what Sheps gonna do maybe we should set up some kind of watch system," Pinkie said. "That way we can warn Twilight if anyone suspicious is messing around with the portal."

"That ain't a half bad idea Pinkie," Applejack said. The rest of the girls all made sounds of agreement.

"I have the book," Sunset said, "So, do we want to alternate who has the book or find a way to communicate quickly?"

"We do all have phones. We could just text you if we see something," Fluttershy said.

"We could do that, but what happens if Sunset can't get to her phone or we can't get to ours?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I think we should all have classes near the portal," Sunset frowned in thought. "If we trade the book for those situations, then use text for others, that should cover all our bases afterschool."

"Ok, but what about after school," Rainbow chimed in. "I'm pretty sure all of us are doing things when we get out."

"If there's a time we can't be near the portal we tell Twilight to keep it closed," Rarity said.

"Definitely," Sunset said. "It'll definitely cut down on her visits but protecting Equestria comes first."

"So, we're all in agreement on the plan then?" Applejack said. When they all agreed Applejack nodded her head once, "Good! Sunset why don'tcha write Twi after we all get your things. Big Mac should be here soon with the truck."

As if on cue, Big Mac walked in, keys in hand, "Ya'll ready," he said is his deep drawl.

"Eyup," Applejack said as she stood up and stretched. "Come on, ya'll! Lets get this done before sundown." They all stood up and filed out of the room after Applejack, except for Sunset who was staring at the floor. Applejack poked her head through the doorway, "Ya comin' Sunset?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way," Sunset stood up, a worried look on her face before she shook it off, and followed Applejack outside.


	3. Chapter 3: Discoveries

Shepard sat at her desk at home. Information about Canterlot High filled her screen. Everything from transcripts to funding was there for her to access thanks to her Spectre status. A picture of Sunset Shimmer sat in the top left corner with her records on main display.

Shepard growled and push away from the useless information. She sat for a moment before hitting a button. There was a short pause before words appeared on her screen stating 'call connection beginning.' It wasn't long till the words disappeared to be replaced by a large black window.

"So Commander Shepard, What do you require of the Shadow Broker?" a garbled voice asked.

"Is that really needed Liara?" Shepard said an amused grin on her face.

The window lightened revealing a relatively young looking asari dressed in a conservative white dress with blue accents. The asari pouted at Shepard, "You always ruin my fun, Shepard."

"It's my job you know," Shepard stated a full smile on her face. "I'm the official fun ruiner."

"I'm sure Kasumi would agree with that," Liara said.

"Considering her idea of fun is trying to steal my helmet I think she would too," Shepard stated.

Liara chuckled, "She would have returned it… eventually."

Shepard shook her head and pointed at Liara giving her a mock glare, "That's not the point."

"As fun as this is Shepard, I have to wonder why you called," Liara asked.

"Who said I needed anything?" Shepard said sitting back and folding her arms. "Maybe I just wanted to talk?"

"You never call just to talk," Liara stated giving Shepard a half lidded stare.

"That's not true, what about a few months ago?" Shepard asked.

"That was about Spectre business."

"Last month then, we talked for hours."

"You wanted information on Garrus' newest fanboy."

Shepard leaned on the desk pointed a finger at Liara again, "Hey I ended up being right about that guy." Liara glared at Shepard until the soldier relented, "Fine there is something I need."

"Knew it," Liara said with a smile.

Shepard glared halfheartedly at the asari before speaking, "There's a girl I just met. Names Sunset Shimmer, about fifteen to sixteen years old, goes to Canterlot High on earth."

` Liara's hands were already on her keyboard as she typed in the information Shepard had stated. "Bit young for your usual crowd Shepard."

"I met her at the warehouse I used to live in when I was her age," Shepard stated leaning back into her chair. "I asked a few questions but she had to leave before I got very far."

Liara paused and looked up from her own screens, "What are you planning Shepard?

Shepard stayed silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "When I was her age I was helped by then Lieutenant Anderson. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have turned out the way I did. I owe everything to him."

"And you want to do something similar for this girl?" Liara asked.

"Yeah something like that," Shepard stated.

There was a small pause before Liara spoke, "Have you talked to Garrus yet?"

"Not yet. I mean we've talked about adopting in the past but nothing felt right then," Shepard said rubbing the back of her head.

"Now you're talking about adopting?" Liara asked raising her eyebrow.

"Possibly… maybe... I don't know," Shepard sighed. "She needs off the street I know that much for sure."

"You need to talk to him Allana. This is a big decision you two need to…make…" Liara stopped staring at her own screen her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Liara?" When there was no response Shepard tried again. "Liara what is it?"

"Well… I don't know," Liara said.

"What?" Shepard asked. "What do you mean?"

Liara shook her head, "Here it's just easier to show you." Liara typed a few commands onto her keyboard. A few files appeared on Shepard's screen with a picture of a familiar girl. "This is Sunset Shimmer. She lives on Eden Prime with her father who was a captain in the Reaper War." Another file appeared with a different picture. "And… This is Sunset Shimmer your Sunset Shimmer to be precise."

Shepard stared at the two pictures. Besides the background and the clothes, the two girls were identical. "What the hell?" Shepard said.

"And to top it off there are no records of your Sunset past four years ago when she started at Canterlot High," Liara sighed deeply. "It's like she just appeared out of thin air which is not possible. She doesn't even have any type of birth certificate that I can find."

"But… that's… how?" Shepard sputtered.

"There's even more," A video appeared on Shepard's screen. "Take a look at this."

The video was from either a security or traffic camera and showed six girls standing in front of a statue of a rearing horse. Sunset stood before the girls holding a tiara. Sunset said something that couldn't be heard then placed the tiara on her head. There was a flash of light and she was engulfed in a pillar of green and black flame. Her silhouette rose into the air and contracted into a ball before she spread out her arm and legs.

The fire disappeared revealing a changed Sunset. Her skin had turned red; her hands had sharp claws at the end. Leather wings sprouted from her back and her hair pointed straight up giving it the appearance of fire. It was her eyes however that caught Shepard's attention. The whites had turned black leaving a glowing teal circle to indicate where Sunset was looking.

The video ended there but before Shepard could comment Liara started another video. This one showed the same girls as before though Sunset stood with them. Most of the kids were holding an instrument of some kind. They also had furry ears poking out the top of their heads and three of them had feathery wings sprouting from their backs. Above the girls hovered three seahorse like creatures.

One of the girls, with purple hair, was kneeling on the ground with an arm outstretched towards Sunset who was holding a microphone. Sunset's jacket quickly came off as she stood in front of the girls in a protective stance and started singing. Soon the others joined in and Sunset transformed once again, though this time was more peaceful. She rose into the air while the others continued singing. Furry ears sprouted from her head and her hair grew in length similar to the six behind her.

The others rose up into the air with her. A rainbow formed above them and shot in the air. The clouds above them came together to a single point before exploding outwards revealing a large ball of light. A large ethereal horse with wings and a single horn emerged from the light. It reared up then blasted the three creature causing them to fracture and blast apart.

With that, the second video ended. Shepard sat there, brows furrowed in confusion, "Liara… what did I just watch?"

"I don't know,"Liara said. She put her hand on her chin in thought, "the only connections I can make are from human mythology."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Well, the first video definitely showed a demon of some sort. The second is more interesting," Liara leaned back in her chair. "The three seahorse like creatures match some retellings of the siren myths. The fourth matches a creature called an alicorn."

"Alicorn?" Shepard asked. "I've never heard of those."

"The legends about those are very obscure. They were related to unicorns and pegasi though much more powerful," Liara said.

"So what does that mean?"

"I don't know," Liara placed her head in her hands. "I don't know what any of this actually means."

"Well demons are usually incarnations of evil," Shepard said.

"But alicorns are the epitome of good," Liara stated, "And Sunset summoned one with the help of those girls."

"How?" Shepard asked.

"Magic would be my best guess," Liara answered.

Shepard folded her arms, "Magic doesn't exist."

"How do you explain it then?" Liara asked.

"Special effects," Shepard stated shrugging her shoulders.

"A possibility but for what purpose? There is no obvious indication that an amateur did this and what would a professional studio gain from these videos." Liara sighed and rubbed her face with one of her hands. "I'll have someone go through the videos but from just a precursory glance I can't see any obvious signs they're fake."

"So magic then," Shepard sighed as well. "Can you make her some documents?"

Liara stared at Shepard, "I can? Are you still planning on…?"

"Yes," Shepard leaned forward placing her elbows on her desk. "Best way to find something out, go to the source. Plus what I said before still stands, she needs off the streets."

"But what about all of this?" Liara asked gesturing towards her screen.

"All the more reason," Shepard said with a sigh. "What if the wrong people find out about this. Plenty of groups out there wouldn't want to experiment with this."

"You want to protect her," Liara stated.

Shepard nodded, "Actually I want to protect all of them. Whether this is magic or something else it's still powerful and different. Some groups would want to take advantage of that."

Liara sighed, "You're right… this just makes everything more complicated."

"So focus on one problem at a time. Can you make documents for our magic girl?" Shepard asked.

"Please Shepard, who created Kasumi's documents for her?" Liara stated smugly.

"Just making sure," Shepard said putting her hands up in a placating gesture.

Liara crossed her arms, "Now it's going to cost you."

Shepard rolled her eyes and smiled at the asari, "Alright, alright, what does the 'Great Shadow Broker' require of me?"

Liara smirked in triumph, "I'm going to be on earth with Jack for some business soon."

"And you want to stay," Shepard gestured widely at the room, "at my place during your trip?"

"Precisely," Liara said her grin growing into a full blown smile.

Shepard shook her head, "You know you're always welcome here. That's part of the reason Garrus and I purchased such a large place."

"Just making sure Shepard," Liara said leaning smugly to the side.

Shepard chuckled, "Deserved that didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did," Liar said.

Shepard rolled her eyes at the asari, "So why is Jack coming with you?"

"There's a student on Earth who caught our attention," Liara explained.

"Another biotic?" Shepard asked raising an eyebrow.

Liara shook her head, "Surprisingly no, her academics though are at or beyond college level or almost all subjects. She has even started her own research projects at fifteen years old."

"From what I remember," Liara brought a hand to her chin in thought. "Her parents wanted her to grow up with her age group. She has actually applied to the Everton division, that independent study program we set up for kids who couldn't make it to Grissom, but Jack wanted to see if she would be willing to fully join Grissom Academy."

"Ah ok, I hope that goes well for you two," Shepard said.

"Grissom has a good relationship with the school she goes too. It should be pretty simple," Liara said. "Anyways, the documents should be ready by the time we make it to Earth."

"Good," Shepard sighed. "That's at least one part down."

"Like you said Allana focus on one problem at a time," Liara said.

Shepard's office door swung open and a flanged voice sounded out, "Allana?" The owner of the voice, a turian wearing a blue and white uniform, stepped into the room. He scanned the space, quickly finding Shepard at her desk. His mandibles spread into the turian equivalent of a smile, "There you are. I thought you were in here."

"What did 'Executor Vakarian' have trouble finding me?" Shepard asked giving the turian a sly smirk. "You going soft in your old age Garrus?"

"Please the only one going soft here is you, Shepard," Garrus said as he stepped further into the room and leaned onto the door frame. He crossed his arms in front of his chest before speaking again, "How long has it been since your last mission? Six months I think?"

Shepard crossed her arms as well matching Garrus, "Says the glorified desk jockey."

Liara cleared her throat gaining their attention, "As fun as this is to watch, I really ought to be going."

Shepard nodded towards the asari, "Alright Liara, thanks for the info, I'll see you in a few days."

Liara gave Shepard a wide smile, "Of course Allana, good luck." With that Liara ended the call.

Shepard leaned forward and closed the video chat window. When she leaned back in her chair she found herself entrapped by two turian arms, "So what do you need luck with?"

Shepard laid her head against Garrus' chest as he spoke feeling the deep subharmonics of his voice. She planted a soft kiss on his scarred right mandible before speaking, "It's actually something I need to talk to you about."

"Whatever it is, I'm listening," Garrus said.

"Good cause this is going to be a doozy," Shepard said leaning forward out of his grasp to pull up the information she wanted. As the information was displayed she explained what had happened during the day. After getting through her explanation and showing Garrus the video there was a long silence as they both stared at the two pictures of Sunset Shimmer.

"What have you gotten us into this time Allana?" Garrus asked.

Shepard sighed loudly bringing her hands up to rub her temples, "I honestly… don't know."

"I mean first the Reapers and now magical girls who turn into demons and summon… what was that last creature called again?"

"Alicorn, it's called an alicorn," She stated.

"Alicorn…right. You do know how crazy all this sounds right?" Garrus asked his mandibles twitching nervously.

Shepard scowled at her computer, "Of course I do. It sounds too much like a fantasy novel… or a bad children's cartoon."

"I can see that," Garrus chuckled. " 'Sunset Shimmer and the Power of Friendship' We could make a fortune selling dolls to little girls." Shepard rolled her eyes and huffed at that. Noticing this action Garrus turned her chair so she was facing him. He leaned down placing his forehead against her before speaking softly, "You know I trust you, Shepard."

She smiled at him and place another kiss on what passed for a nose on a turian, "I know Garrus. You've been here for me since the beginning."

Garrus trilled softly at that, "Good." He turned his attention back to the screens, "So what's the plan here?"

Shepard turned back to the screens as well, "First we need to get Sunset off the streets."

"You want to offer her a place here don't you," Garrus stated.

She turned slightly to the turian giving him a hesitant smile, "Um… yes?"

Garrus stared at the screen a moment before turning to Shepard, "I think that's a good idea.:

"Really?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, it'll get her off the streets and we can keep a close eye on her and the others," Garrus stated gesturing back towards the screen.

Shepard smiled, "Good, cause I already have Liara creating documents for her."

"I didn't hear that," Garrus said putting his arms into the air. "As far as I'm aware she already had documented and is just an orphan we decided to take in."

Shepard planted yet another kiss on his mandibles, "Of course honey." She turned back to the computer staring at the information displayed, "Our life just got a lot more complicated didn't it?"

"Yes, yes it did, " Garrus said wrapping his arms around Shepard again. "But we'll get through this together."

"Like always," Shepard said


	4. Chapter 4: A Simple Choice

Sunset Shimmer sighed as she walked through Canterlot High's hallways. It had been a long week for her as she got used to living with the Apple family. While she wasn't as opposed to mornings as Rainbow was, five in the morning was still earlier than she would like.

Still, it was nice living with the Apples. Granny Smith had insisted she eat as much as she could and Big Mac had been a big help with moving some of her things. Even Applejack's little sister had joined in, taking it upon herself to be like Sunset's personal butler.

Sunset lifted the book bag on shoulder and set it on the floor in front of her locker. She opened her locker and stuffed two of her textbooks into the bag filling it to near bursting. She closed the locker and hefted the bag back onto her shoulder. It was the end of the day so she had to meet Applejack outside so they could be picked up to go back to the farm for the day.

She turned on her heel and nearly ran into Applejack and Rainbow Dash who were standing right behind her. "Sunset, there ya are we've been lookin' all over fer ya," Applejack said reaching out to steady Sunset who had nearly tipped over from trying to avoid a collision with her two friends.

"Why?" Sunset asked after she managed to stay upright.

"Cause Commander Shepard just walked into the school!" Rainbow near shouted.

Sunset's eyes widened, "What! Why?"

"Don' rightly know sugercube," Applejack said shrugging her shoulders. "But, that's not even the weirdest part."

"Yeah she seemed to recognize us," Rainbow said.

Applejack nodded in agreement at Sunset's quizzical look, "Yep she walked with some asari, noticed us and then made a beeline towards us. Started askin' questions too."

"What kind of question?" Sunset asked.

"Our names, if we knew you, if we went to school here, stuff like that," Rainbow said denoting each question with her fingers. "After we answered she just nodded, thanked us, then walked off with the asari."

"Why would she-" Sunset was interrupted by a loud blaring from the speakers in the hallway.

"Sunset Shimmer please report to the principal's office, Sunset Shimmer to the principal's office," Celestia's voice said over the speakers.

All three girls stared at each other with wide eyes. "Guess that answers one question," Applejack said. She put a hand on Sunset's shoulder, "Do ya want us ta come with ya?"

Sunset shook her head, "No… No, I'll be fine." She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Whatever it is I can deal with it."

"If yer sure sugarcube," Applejack said releasing Sunset's shoulder. Rainbow and I will see if we can't find the other. We'll all wait fer ya at the entrance."

"Thanks, Applejack," Sunset said nodding. The three girls parted ways, with Applejack and Rainbow heading off in the direction Sunset had come from, and Sunset continuing down the hallway. She wound her way through the corridors, ignoring the whispers and stares from the other students, eventually finding her way into the school office.

She stood in front of Celestia's office. Breathing in and out slowly to help calm down, she straightened her should and walked inside. Celestia sat at her desk, hands folded on top of a few papers on her desk, talking to an asari who was sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the large desk. The asari was relatively young, though by any standards young for an asari was ancient for most humans, and was wearing an elegant blue and gold dress.

A familiar voice sound out on Sunset's right, "Was wondering if you got lost. Sunset turned to find Shepard giving her a lazy smirk as she leaned against one of the many filing cabinets that lined the walls. There were sunglasses perched on top of her head and she wore military style cargo pants with an N7 hoodie covering a gray shirt. Her clothes combined with her posture gave the image of a military brat who spent too much time in the principal's office.

Celestia cleared her throat, "Yes, well she is here now so we can get started." She gestured to the last remaining chair in the room, "Please have a seat Sunset."

Once Sunset had settled herself in the chair and placed her bag on the floor she spoke, "What is this about?"

Celestia shuffled the papers on her desk, "It has been brought to my attention by Dr. T'soni," She indicated the asari sitting to Sunset's left, "And Mrs. Shepard, that you have spent the last few years homeless. Is this accurate?"

Sunset's eyes widened and her breath hitched. She shot a glance at Shepard, who had moved up beside her. She nodded at Sunset concern etched on her face. Eventually, Sunset spoke, "Um… yes, its true."

Celestia's face fell and her shoulders slumped. She glanced at the other two occupants of the room before staring at the papers on her desk. "Right, well this changes a few things."

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

Celestia straightened back up squaring her shoulders as she spoke, "As a teacher and the principal of this school it is my responsibility to ensure each student has the best possible chance to succeed." Her face softened as she leaned forward on her desk looking directly at Sunset, "Beyond that, I care about each and every one of my students, including you Sunset. And I can't, in good conscience, allow any of my students to stay homeless." She straightened back up once again messing with the papers on her desk, "I would have to report this immediately."

"What! No!" Sunset said leaning forward as well and placing her hands on the desk. "I… I'm fine now. I'm living with the Apples. It's fine now I'm not homeless.

Celestia sighed, "While that is good, they are not your legal guardians. I would still have to report this to CPS and you would most likely be put into foster care. However-"

Before Celestia could continue Sunset jumped up and shouted, "But that would take me away from here, my friends, and-" A calming hand settled on Sunset's shoulder stopping the girl's tirade against the principal.

"Whoa, calm down Sunset. We don't want to take you away from here either," Shepard said removing her hand from Sunset's shoulder. She gestured to the others in the room as she said, "Which is why Liara, Celestia, and I have come up with a solution if you want."

Sunset narrowed her eyes at Shepard, "What kind of solution?"

"If you hadn't interrupted me I would have told you," Celestia said gesturing back towards the chair Sunset had vacated. Once Sunset sat back down she continued. "Now, if you so choose, Allana Shepard would become your legal guardian and you would live with her and her husband instead of going into foster care."

"What they would adopt me?" Sunset asked.

At this Liara cleared her throat, "No they wouldn't be adopting you. Basically, we would skip the process of reporting this to Child Protective Service and their process of placing you in foster care and simply place you under the care of Shepard and Garrus. They would essentially be your foster parents guaranteeing that you could stay here and continue to attend this school with your friends."

"So… what, I have to move in with you now?" Sunset asked looking at Shepard.

"Nope," Shepard said with a shake of her head. "You could let CPS take care of you. This is just an alternative that allows you to stay here."

Sunset stared at Shepard for a moment before looking down at her hands, "I… I don't know."

"Please feel free to ask us any questions you might have," Liara said smiling at Sunset.

"Yeah, we want this to be your decision Sunset," Shepard said again placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Sunset looked up at Shepard, "Why me?"

Shepard smiled and stuck her hands into the pockets on her hoodie, "Cause you remind me of myself at your age. And if someone hadn't done something similar to this for me, then I wouldn't be where I am today. So… I want to do the same for you."

Sunset looked back down at her hands and sat in silence for a moment before speaking. "Ok, I'll do it. I'll live with you."

Shepard smile grew wider, "Great!" She turned to Celestia, "Is there anything else we need to do?"

Celestia shuffled the papers in front of her looking at each one before saying, "Everything appears to be in order. If I could go over a few things with Dr. T'soni that would be helpful, otherwise all I need is a signature from Sunset here." She placed a document in front of Sunset and indicated with a pen where Sunset needed to sign.

Sunset leaned forward and signed the document. She handed the document back then stood up, grabbing her bag, and followed Shepard out.

They walked in silence for a while as they wound through the school's halls. While the school was mostly empty there were a few other students lagging behind the rest of the student body. Sunset could just barely make out the confused whispering as the student stared at the two of them but before she could make out exactly what the students were saying Shepard spoke.

"I know this seems sudden, cause it is, but I hope this will be a good thing for you," She said as she looked at Sunset.

Sunset nodded, "Yeah I… this is just all really quick."

Shepard chuckled, "I know if you have any questions feel free to ask."

"Um, you live here, on Earth?" Sunset asked.

"Yup," Shepard said popping the p as she nodded. "We got the place a few years after the Reaper war. Someplace quiet we could relax. It's also close to the spaceport so Garrus can get to work."

"What does he do?" Sunset tiled her head to the side as she looked towards Shepard.

Shepard ran a hand through her hair, "He actually the Executor of C-sec." She chuckled as Sunset's eyes widened. "Don't worry he's not as much of a hard ass as his predecessor."

They had made it to the school's entrance but, before Shepard could open the door, Sunset placed her hand on the door handle stopping her. "Before we go out, I should probably warn you, my friends are more than likely right outside," She said.

Shepard smirked at Sunset. "Don't worry," She said flicking the sunglasses, still perched on her head, down in front of her eyes, "I got this." With that, she opened the door and walked outside. Sunset closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply before following.

Silence met her as her friends all stood staring at Shepard and she stared back. Sunset cleared her throat. "Shepard these are my friends," She pointed to each of them as she said their names, "Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and you've already met Applejack and Rainbow Dash."

"Yes, yes I did," Shepard said clapping her hands together, "Well, how are you all today?"

Pinkie took this as her cue to leap forward and start talking, "Wowzie, you really are Commander Shepard not to say that you aren't though you could be a clone wouldn't that be funny if there was a clone of you and you had to fight over who was the real Commander Shepard she'd be like 'I should go' and you'd be like 'Do I really sound like that' and-"

Pinkie's tirade was ended when Applejack managed to wrangle the hyper girl back and put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry 'bout that. Pinkie here's just a bit excitable around new people."

"Don't worry you get used to it," Sunset said looking over at Shepard. "It's just Pinkie being Pinkie."

"Right, Pinkie being… Pinkie," Shepard said as she lifted up her sunglasses to stare with narrowed eyes at the pink haired girl who was still talking despite the hand muffling her.

Rarity stepped forward this time. "It is a pleasure to meet you Commander, or should I say, Admiral?" She said offering her hand to Shepard.

"Either one," Shepard said taking the offered hand in a firm handshake. "The admiral position is more honorary anyways. I mostly work with the Spectres still, training new recruits and the like." Shepard released Rarity's hand and turned to look at the other girls. "Besides you're all civilians anyways so the ranking is unneeded so just Shepard is fine."

"Actually Rainbow Dash here is part of the junior ROTC program," Applejack said indicating the rainbow haired girl.

Shepard smirked and turned towards Rainbow, "Is she now?"

Rainbow Dash gulped as Shepard looked over her. "Yes, ma'am," She said straightening her posture.

Shepard chuckled, "At ease cadet, no need for formalities, neither of us are in our uniforms at the moment."

"Right, just kind of reflex at this point I guess," Rainbow said running a hand through her hair a slight redness appearing on her cheeks.

"That's good," Shepard said nodding. "Though I wouldn't have pegged as military, why did you want to join?"

"I want to be a pilot," Rainbow said straightening up again. "Fly with the best you know."

"Good for you, though I'd watch it with the hair dye," Shepard said as she pointed at Rainbow's hair.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah I've heard that before. This is actually my natural color though."

Shepard shifted her sunglasses down to look at Rainbow with a raised eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yep," Rainbow said, the rest of the girls nodding in agreement. "If you want hair dye though Rarity's got plenty."

Rarity scoffed, "Please Rainbow Dash this-" she flicked a hand through her hair "- is au natural as it were."

"Right, like we haven't all seen the dye you keep 'hidden' in her room," Rainbow said as she smirked at Rarity.

Rarity scoffed again and turned away from Rainbow. Before anyone could say anything there was a loud, "Woah nelly," from Applejack. They all looked over to find Pinkie sitting on top of Applejack finally having overpowered her captor.

Pinkie breathed in deeply then said, "Is it true you had a hamster on the Normandy?"

"Uh… yeah, I did," Shepard said. "How did-"

"Just a hunch," Pinkie said with a wide smile.

Fluttershy stepped forward this time hiding half her face in her hair as she spoke, "Um… What kind of hamster was it? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Golden hamster I think," Shepard said shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't really ask too many questions when I bought him."

"What was his name?" Fluttershy asked.

Shepard smiled, "Reginald, Reggie for short."

"That's a nice name," Fluttershy said smiling back at Shepard. "I have a bunny called Angel."

"Don't forget the cat, the hamster, the bird-"Pinkie said.

"You really like animals then huh," Shepard said cutting off Pinkie before she could get started. "You know, I was thinking about getting a new hamster soon, any suggestions?"

"Oh we're always looking for people adopt the hamster at the shelter," Fluttershy said as she took off her backpack. She rummaged inside eventually pulling out a flyer which she handed to Shepard. "Here's the information, you can come by anytime."

Shepard took the offered flyer and scanned its contents before sticking it in a pocket. "Thanks, I'll definitely come by sometime," She said causing Fluttershy to smile even wider.

The door behind Shepard and Sunset opened revealing the asari, "We're good to go Shepard."

"Thanks, Liara," Shepard said before turning to the girls. "Hey, girls this is Dr. Liara T'soni, Liara this is," She paused as she looked over the girls. "Wait I got this," She pointed to each of the girls as she said their names, "Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity." Each of them nodded as Shepard said their names.

"It's is a pleasure to meet you all," Liara said. She turned to Sunset, "Celestia wanted me to give this to you," She said handing a large black case to the girl. "She said since you'll have a place now you might want this."

"Thanks," Sunset said taking the offered case. At Shepard inquisitive look Sunset explained, "It's my guitar, I kept it here so it wouldn't get stolen or damaged."

"You play guitar?" Shepard asked.

"Heck yeah, she does!" Rainbow exclaimed. "She's in our band, The Rainbooms."

"Really I'll have to see that sometime. Maybe you all come over to the house practice," Shepard said.

"Not that we don' appreciate the offer, but why would we practice at your place?" Applejack asked.

Sunset cleared her throat gaining the girls attention, "Actually I'll be living with Shepard now. She's becoming my legal guardian."

The five girls stared at Sunset before they all broke out into speech all talking over one another. Shepard stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply causing all the girls to jump and turn towards Shepard. "Alright enough of that," Shepard said with a stern edge. "Now I know you're all worried and have more than a few questions." Her face a voice softened as she continued to speak. "First off this was her choice. I had to do something about her situation after I found out. Second, I wanted to make sure she wasn't taken away from her. So I offered her a place under my care instead of the possibility of her having to go somewhere else."

Applejack turned to Sunset, "You sure about this sugarcube?"

"Yeah…yeah, I am," Sunset said nodding to Applejack. "Considering… everything, I think this is one of the better options."

"Well… alright if yer sure," Applejack said. She turned to Shepard, "You'll have ta stop at my place, Sunset's things from the warehouse are there."

"Right well head there, after we're done here," Shepard said.

"Wait a minute," Pinkie said. "Does this mean we can finally have slumber parties at Sunset's house?"

Sunset looked at Shepard who simply chuckled and said, "Yes I suppose it does. Why don't you all come over this weekend? I was planning on taking Sunset to the Citadel to do some shopping on Saturday. You all could tag along then stay over into Sunday if you wanted."

"Ah shouldn't have anythin' goin' on," Applejack said with the other girls giving similar sentiments.

"Plus it'll give us time to prepare for the Friendship Games next week," Rainbow said.

"The Friendship Games?" Shepard said.

"It's this competition held every four years between our school and Crystal Prep," Sunset said. Liar perked up at the mention of the other school. "It's kind of a big deal."

"Yeah! And this time gonna kick their sorry buts," Rainbow said punching a fist into her other hand.

"Sounds interesting, we may have to attend that," Shepard said as she looked towards Liara.

"Yes I think it would be a good idea," Liara said.

"Alright well we really should be going," Shepard said sticking her hands into her pockets. "Applejack, we'll follow you to your place to pick up Sunset's things then head home ourselves."

Sounds good to me," Applejack said turning to leave. "I'll see you there."

The rest of the girls left saying goodbye to Sunset before going their own way. Eventually, only Sunset, Shepard and Liara were left standing in front of the school's entrance.

"Whelp we should probably get going," Shepard said starting down the front steps with Liara following close behind.

"Right lets… go home," Sunset said following Shepard and Liara.


	5. Chapter 5: Magical Discussions

**Disclaimer: This chapter contains strong language mostly from Jack. I will be curbing the language in future chapters. You have been warned.**

"I can't believe Granny Smith forced this pie on us," Shepard said as she walked into her house pie in hand.

"She didn't force anything Shepard," Liara said following the soldier inside. "I think it was a nice gesture."

"Yeah besides, her pies are the best," Sunset said closing the door behind her.

"I suppose," Shepard said examining the pie with narrowed eyes. "Still did it have to be apple? Why not raspberry or cherry?"

Sunset chuckled, "Don't let the Apples hear you say that, otherwise they'll drown you in apple products to prove their superiority."

Shepard looked terrified for a second, "Right I'll watch out for that."

Liara chuckled as well, "What Shepard can't handle a few apples?"

Shepard put a hand up in a placating gesture, "Hey now, I like apples as much as the next person. I just prefer my fruit with a bit of tang is all." She turned and walked through a doorway to her left shouting over her shoulder, "Feel free to look around Sunset. I'm going to order some food for us. I'll find you when it's here."

"I'll go make sure she doesn't get anything too extravagant," Liara said as she turned to follow Shepard. "Does pizza sound good?"

"Pizza? Really?" Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I blame Shepard, that's what she always got for us on leave and I've gotten hooked," Liara said with a smile.

"Pizza sounds great," Sunset said smiling back at the asari.

"Good anything special?" Liara asked

"Nope, I'm good with anything," Sunset answered shaking her head.

Liara nodded then left Sunset alone to explore. She turned to take in the room around her. There was a couch with two overstuffed chairs on either side sitting in the middle of the room facing a large screen in one of the corners. A large table sat in front of the chairs with a few coasters strewn about on its surface. Sunset wandered past the chairs to a small alcove built into the wall. Pillows filled the alcove and a window looked out to a grassy lawn.

She moved past the alcove to a staircase that led downstairs. The door at the bottom was open revealing a lit room. She went down the stair to find a large room with various weight machines lining the walls. A circular mat took up the center of the room with stands on one side holding sparring gear.

She walked over to the gear and picked up one of the helmets. It looked well-worn though still sturdy enough to provide protection to the wearer. As Sunset was placing the helmet back on to the stand a flanged voice sounded out behind her, "I see you found the sparring room."

Sunset reacted quickly spinning around and delivering a magic enhanced kick behind her. It connected with a solid thump and the person behind her fell to the ground emitting a loud grunt of pain. She used the momentum to turn completely around and look at the fallen person. A turian lay on the ground clutching his midsection. He wore a blue and white uniform and had blue markings on his face. The right side of his face was marred with old scarring.

Sunset recognized who she had just assaulted. Her hands flew toward her mouth as she gasped. She rushed over to the fallen turian offering a hand to help him up, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I-" She was interrupted by loud cackling laughter coming from the doorway. Sunset spun to look at where the laughing was coming from. Shepard and Liara were standing there with another woman, hunched over laughing. She was wearing a black leather jacket over black jeans and a white shirt. Her hair was shaved on the sides with the top pulled back into a long ponytail. Tattoos covered most of her exposed skin with her face being the only part of her not covered in ink.

"Oh man that was fucking hilarious," The woman said after calming down enough to stand straight. She was promptly hit in the back of the head by Shepard causing her to whip around to glare at the soldier. "What the fuck!"

"Language Jack," Shepard said glaring right back.

"You fucking serious, I'm nowhere near the Academy right now," Jack said gesturing around her. Shepard gave a pointed look at Sunset. Jack followed her gaze and scoffed. "Oh come on Shepard she was livin' in the fucking streets, she's probably heard way worse than that."

"That's not the point," Shepard growled her glare hardening.

Jack returned the glare for a moment before scoffing again, "Fine, I'll watch my language warden."

Sunset watched the exchange with wide eyes before a groan drew her attention back to the turian on the ground. "Oh here let me-"She started once again moving to help the turian onto his feet.

She was waved off as the turian stood up. "I'm fine just a little winded is all," He said standing to his full height to tower over Sunset. "I'm Garrus, Garrus Vakarian and the loud one over there is Jack." He extended a talon towards Sunset, "It's good to finally meet you."

Sunset shook his talon, "It's good to meet you as well"

Garrus nodded at her returning his talon to his side when it was released, "That's a pretty mean kick you got there."

"Sorry about that, it was a reflex," Sunset said rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's fine," Garrus said waving a talon about in a dismissive gesture. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that.

"She did the same thing to me when I met her," Shepard said stepping onto the mat. "I think that's how she treats people."

"No! That's not-" Sunset stopped, noticing the smirk on Shepard's face. Sunset rolled her eyes at Shepard as she crossed her arms. "Oh ha, ha."

Shepard chuckled, "All joking aside, that was an impressive display. You ever have any training?"

"Yeah my dad taught me a few thing," Sunset said her eyes widening as she realized exactly what she said.

"Really? Was he military?" Garrus asked.

"Uh yeah, he was," Sunset said.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "Maybe we can find him for you?"

Sunset shook her head eyes darting between Shepard and Garrus, "No… its fine he was declared KIA a while ago."

"We have some connections," Garrus said stepping forward. "Maybe we can find something the Alliance missed."

"N-no that's fine really," Sunset said backing away from Shepard and Garrus. "I don't think that-"

"Oh come on," Jack said interrupting Sunset. "Just ask her the damn questions already."

Shepard hung her head and ran a hand down her face sighing, "Jack… there's such a thing as subtlety."

"Fu- Screw subtlety, just ask her what you want and get it over with," Jack said leaning against the door frame.

"What questions?" Sunset asked.

Liara stepped forward, "When Shepard first found you she and I did some research. What we discovered was… interesting to say the least."

"Oh," Sunset said looking down at her feet. "I suppose you would have questions." She breathed in then out closing her eyes. She opened them again as she spoke, "Go ahead ask away."

"Just like that?" Shepard said.

Sunset sighed, "My friends pointed out that of all the people in the galaxy to find out about our magic, you and your crew are probably one of the best options." She ran a hand across her face, "We can't keep this hidden forever, plus with me being from a different dimension-"

Sunset was interrupted once more by Jack, "Whoa wait for a f- wait a minute." She stepped away from the door frame approaching the rest of the group. "Different dimension? Are you serious?"

"It's… it's complicated," Sunset looked towards Shepard. "Is there someplace we can sit down this might take a while."

Shepard nodded, "Sure we can go upstairs." She turned and walked to the doorway the other following closely.

They all got settled in the living room with Shepard and Garrus taking the couch along with Liara. Jack and Sunset took the chairs on either side of the couch. "Alright," Shepard said leaning forward to place her arms on her knees. "Start from the beginning and tell us everything."

Sunset sighed, "Ok well… are any of you familiar with the multiverse theory?"

Liara nodded at Sunset's words, "Yes the theory states that there are infinite possible dimensions beyond our perception. However, no proof in either direction has been found leaving it more as a thought experiment than an actual theory."

"What if I said I had proof of at least one dimension," Sunset said.

"What kind of proof?" Liara asked.

"I'm actually from an alternate dimension," Sunset said gesturing to herself. "One with magic, and populated by unicorns and pegasi as well as other mythological creatures."

"Bullshit," Jack said crossing her arms. "Come really a unicorn? How fucking stupid do you think we are?"

"Jack," Shepard said glaring at the woman again.

"No Shepard this is fucking bullshit," Jack said standing up. "And notice she doesn't have proof just a story."

"There's proof in my bag though I doesn't remember where it went," Sunset said looking around.

"We put it in the room you'll be staying," Shepard said. She turning to Jack, "Why don't you go get it and calm down."

"Fine, I'll go do that," Jack said turning and walking towards the hallway behind them. "It'll get me away from this bullshit."

"Sorry about that," Shepard said turning back to Sunset.

"It's fine," Sunset said with a shrug. "I know this sounds crazy."

"I you truly lived in this world, how did you end up here?" Liara asked.

"There was a magic mirror in my world. Every thirty moons it would open a portal to this world," Sunset said.

"So you just decided to go through it one day?" Garrus asked leaning forward. "Seems rather reckless. Did you even know where it led to at the time?"

"It wasn't like that," Sunset said as she looked down at her feet. "At the time I thought I was being exiled."

Shepard sat up, "Exiled, what for?"

Sunset glanced up to meet Shepard's eyes quickly looking away, "I was accessing dark magic tomes. While that's not necessarily forbidden I had been told not to study those books."

So you ignored your teachers so what?" Shepard said with a shrug. "Why does that mean exile?"

"Cause my teacher was also the ruler of the country," Sunset said with a grimace.

"Oh," Shepard said leaning back into the couch. "Yeah, I can see why that would change things."

"So she was the queen of… What was the country's name?" Liara asked.

"Equestria," Sunset said. "And she didn't call herself a queen, she preferred princess."

"How long has she been the princess then?" Liara asked

"About as long as Equestria has been around," Sunset said. She looked up at the asari a hand on her chin in thought. "Which would be around twelve hundred years or so?"

Shepard and Liara's eyes widened. "She's been around for that long?" Shepard asked.

"Longer actually," Sunset said. Before she could continue Jack walk back into the room holding Sunset's bag. "Here," She said dumping the bag in Sunset's lap. She walked back to the chair and flopped down into it crossing her arms and refusing to meet Sunset's eyes.

Sunset opened her bag and took out a book and a pen. The book was rather large and leather bound with a picture of a dual colored sun on the front. She handed both the book and the pen to Liara gesturing for the asari to open it.

Liara rifled through the pages, "It appears to be some sort of journal how is this-" She stopped and stared at a page before turning the book to Sunset. "Is this name accurate?" She asked.

Sunset leaned forward to look at the page, "Yeah that's Twilight."

Jack sat up, "Wait, Twilight as in Twilight Sparkle?"

"Yeah… Why, Oh" Sunset's eyes widened. "You know about this world's Twilight."

"It is the reason Jack and I are here," Liara said placing the still open book on the table. "We are going to see if she would be interested in joining Grissom Academy."

"Makes sense," Sunset said nodding. "She was the princess's personal student after I left." Sunset shook her head before continuing, "Anyways you wanted proof that book is it."

"What do you mean as far as I can tell it is just a book," Liara said with a shrug.

"Back when I was the princesses student we both had books like that," Sunset said gesturing to the book. "When she would be too far away to see personally we would use the book to write each other."

"So it's a communication device?" Shepard asked picking the book up and looking through it as well.

Sunset nodded, "It was one of the items I brought with me from Equestria. I found out later I could still use it to communicate even across dimensions." She gestured to the book, "Go ahead and write in it, just make sure to mention I gave you permission."

Shepard and Liara stared at each other seeming to come to a decision. Liara took the book from Shepard, picked up the pen and started writing. When she was done she placed the book closed on the table. "How long will it take for a response?" Liara asked.

"Depends could be a few hours," The book started buzzing and glowing interrupting Sunset. "Or a few seconds."

Shepard picked up the book causing it to stop bussing as she opened it. She quickly scanned the page eyes widened. She glanced up at Sunset before starting to read, "Dear Dr. T'soni, It is a pleasure to hear from you. I am glad Sunset has found both you and Shepard and has started to tell you her story. Please feel free to write anytime with questions I would be more than happy to answer. Also, I would like to meet you pony to pony at some point. I did read a lot about the Commander and her crew during my stay in the human world and I would love the chance to talk with you. Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

They sat in silence for a moment before Jack stood up and yanked the book from Shepard gasp reading the page. Her eye widened as well and she slowly sat down in her seat again. "This is fucking impossible," She said after a moment longer.

"Obviously not as impossible as we'd like to think considering we all saw it happen," Garrus said.

"How does it work," Liara asked taking the book from Jack and examining it.

"It's a few different spells combined," Sunset said leaning forward and folding her hands together. "I knew them by heart at one point being I haven't needed that information for a while. Twilight would be better for the mechanical side of it anyway."

"So magic then," Shepard said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes magic," Sunset said.

"Fucking bullshit," Jack said standing up again and point at Sunset. "Magic doesn't ex-"

She was interrupted by Sunset standing up with clenched fists. A nonexistent wind blew through her hair giving it the appearance of fire. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered and her narrowed eyes glowed with power. "I assure you," Her hands were surrounded by a red glow as she took a step forward. "Magic does exist."

They all stared in shocked silence for a second. Jack then took a step forward as well igniting her biotics, "You think you scare me girly. Magic. Doesn't. Exist."

Sunset's eyes narrowed even further. She turned stretching out a hand behind her. A pillow from the alcove floated over the group surrounded in a red glow. As it levitated above the table the glow around Sunset's hand intensified before a red bolt shot out and hit the pillow. There was a loud pop and a flash as the pillow transformed into a cluster of raspberries which dropped to the table.

Sunset fell as well nearly hitting the table before Liara caught her and her back into the chair. Sunset's hair was frazzled and she had noticeable bags under her eyes. Her entire body trembled from exhaustion. Eventually, she managed to speak between shallow breaths, "There… is that… real enough… for you?"

Jack stared at the raspberries on the table. The doorbell rang causing the group minus Sunset to jump. Jack quickly walked away towards the door without saying a word.

Shepard turned a concerned eye to Sunset, "Are you alright?"

Sunset nodded, "Yeah I'm fine… Just took a lot out of me."  
"You shouldn't have done it if you knew it would exhaust you this much," Liara said placing a hand on Sunsets shoulder.

Sunset shook her head, "No I had to prove-"

"You didn't need to prove it like that," Garrus interrupted. "You already had the book. No point in putting yourself in danger just to prove a point."

"I've done it before," Sunset said with a shrug. "Besides, I'll be fine once I get some food and rest."

"Then you're going to bed after you eat," Shepard said. "You obviously need the rest. We can continue this later."

Sunset nodded as Jack returned with the pizza, placing it on the table before stealing a slice and walking off refusing to look at Sunset. Sunset ignored this and took half a pizza for herself. When she was done she stood up legs trembling though now able to hold her weight. "Where's my room?" She asked.

"Up the stairs second door on the left," Shepard said. "You want any help?"

Sunset shook her head and headed upstairs. When she found her room she collapsed onto the bed not bothering to take even take her clothes off. Exhaustion soon took its toll sending Sunset into a dreamless sleep.

 **A/N: Now I will take the time to answer the questions I got in the reviews. I will only answer the questions that aren't connected to an account. If you have an account and post a question in your review I will PM you personally. Now onto the answers. One: It is a possibility to see baby krogan but we won't see many other characters until much later. Second: I don't really know yet I have a few idea rattling around my head for bonding between Garrus and Sunset but I haven't gotten to that point yet. Anyways thank you for the review and keep them coming. I love to read these as it keeps me well motivated to keep writing.**


	6. Chapter 6: Morning Conversations

Shepard's eyes opened as she sat up breathing heavily, her heart racing. Her eyes darted around her room eventually landing on the turian still sleeping beside her. She forced herself to focus on him, her breathing starting to slow. Eventually, her breathing returned to a normal rate as she calmed down. She looked over to her nightstand. A holo-display showed five thirty in an angry orange.

She slowly got out of bed, being careful not to disturb the slumbering turian in the process. She threw on sweatpants and a tank top before making her way out of her room. As she strolled down the hall, faint music reached her ears coming from one of the rooms.

Sunset's door was open so Shepard peeked in. Sunset sat on the edge of her bed, guitar in hand, a miniature amplifier sitting next to her. Sunset's eyes were closed as she played and sang along. Furry ears poked through her hair, which had grown in length, and were twitching slightly in time with the music.

Sunset ended the song, holding the last chords for a few moments before muting the strings with her palms. Shepard clapped softly causing Sunset to jump and look towards the soldier. Shepard chuckled, holding her hands up in a placating gesture as she spoke, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. That was great by the way."

"Thanks," Sunset said as she placed the guitar back into the case. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Shepard waved her hand at Sunset, "Nah, don't worry you didn't. I just happened to hear you as I walked by." Shepard leaned onto the doorframe crossing her arms, "The ears are a nice touch by the way."

Sunset reached up to touch the ears causing them to twitch away from the offending hand, "Yeah they appear whenever we get really into a song."

"Right, I think we saw that in one of the videos we found," Shepard said.

Sunset winced, "What videos did you see?"

"Couple different ones," Shepard said with a shrug. "Why don't you and I go downstairs and make some breakfast while we talk."

Sunset nodded and stood up as her ears disappeared with a pop, "Sure why not."

Shepard smiled, moving away from the doorframe and clapped her hands together, "Alrighty, bacon and eggs sound good?"

Sunset smiled back at Shepard, "Sounds great."

"Let's go then," Shepard turned and marched down the hallway with Sunset following close behind.

Once in the kitchen, Shepard pulled a pan down from a cupboard. "Why don't you grab the bacon from the fridge." Sunset nodded and walked over to the fridge, opening it as Shepard added, "Make sure to grab from the middle shelf, that's where the levo stuff is."

"Right," Sunset said grabbing a pack of bacon. She closed the fridge and handed the bacon to Shepard, "How does that work with Garrus being dextro?"

"It's actually pretty simple," Shepard said opening the pack of bacon and throwing a few pieces into the pan. "Contrary to popular belief eating dextro food isn't that bad, same for a dextros eating levo. Unless you have an existing allergy eating bread or vegetables is fine. It's the meat you have to watch out for… and the chaffing."

"Chaffing? Why would," Sunset's cheeks turned red as Shepard laughed at the girls mortified expression. Sunset huffed, "Do you enjoy embarrassing me?"

"I enjoy embarrassing everyone," Shepard said still chuckling. "It's a special talent of mine."

Sunset shook her head, "I'm sure it is."

"Yep," Shepard said as she moved the bacon around with a spatula she grabbed. "Now, about those videos."

"What about them," Sunset asked leaning against the table in the middle of the kitchen.

"Well, first off," Shepard said as she moved to the side and leaned on the counter facing Sunset. "I wouldn't worry about anyone else finding them. Liara got rid of most of them, though there are probably still some out there, just not enough to warrant much attention."

"That's good," Sunset said breathing a sigh of release.

"I figured you would like that," Shepard turned back to the stove. "And secondly, I stayed up late talking, or I guess writing, to Princess Twilight last night. She told me what happened during the fall formal." Shepard turned halfway around to glance at Sunset, "And really, a teenage army to try and take over a whole country."

Sunset winced at the words and rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke, "Yeah that wasn't my best move."

Shepard snorted, "Yeah you're right about that. I mean, come on, I'm pretty sure there was an Alliance station not too far from the school, you could have at least had trained soldiers."

Sunset opened her mouth before closing it, her brow furrowing. "Are… are you encouraging me to take over a country?" She finally asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, of course not," Shepard said with a shrug. "Just critiquing your plan is all."

"That's not the usual reaction to people finding out about my past," Sunset said crossing her arms.

Shepard flipped the bacon over as she spoke, "What's the usual reaction then?"

"Horror, disgust, anger, disappointment," Sunset said looking down at her feet. "Take your pick."

Shepard turned again to look at Sunset, "If I had that reaction to everyone I knew with a sordid past, I'd have a permanent scowl on my face," Shepard chuckled, "Just look at Jack." Sunset looked up to meet Shepard's green eyes, "Besides, I prefer to judge people based on who they are now, not who they were."

Sunset face gained a small smile, "Thanks."

Shepard nodded then turned back to the stove. "You wanna grab a plate for the bacon, they should be in that cupboard there," She said pointing to one of the overhead doors with the spatula. Sunset grabbed a plate and handed it to Shepard who dumped the bacon onto it before putting more into the pan. "Anyways, while I heard Princess Twilight's side of the story I'd like to hear yours."

"There's really not much to tell," Sunset said once again leaning against the table. "I went back to Equestria, stole a magical artifact and tried to take over the world."

"Somehow, I think there's more to it than that," Shepard said. "That transformation didn't look pleasant for one."

Sunset grimaced, "It… wasn't. Dark magic isn't very gentle."

"So, that was dark magic then?" Shepard asked as she flipped the bacon. "I can see why your teacher didn't want you getting involved with it."

"Yeah, it was," Sunset sighed. "And it wasn't expected." She moved away from the table to start pacing as she spoke, "I just wanted to prove that I could handle the power I thought Princess Celestia was denying me." She stopped and hung her head scuffing the floor with a shoe, "Instead I just proved her right."

"You didn't want to take over Equestria?" Shepard asked.

Sunset shook her head, "Like I said, all I wanted to do was prove myself. Prove that I was just as good or better than Twilight. But when I put on that crown everything got out of control."

"You… weren't in control?" Shepard asked turning to look at Sunset.

"I was and I wasn't," Shepard raised an eyebrow as Sunset continued. "It was me, all my deepest and darkest desires and emotions were released, but I didn't feel in control. Everything that happened after I put on that crown was because of my emotions." Sunset looked down, "It was like trying to sail in a storm. The only thing I could do was hold it together while the storm raged on."

"I understand that," Shepard said crossing her arms. "Feeling that loss of control is something I'm familiar with."

"The worst part… I almost killed Twilight and the girls," Sunset closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "If Twilight hadn't been able to activate her Element of Harmony I would have."

Shepard reached over and gently pulled Sunset's face up to look at Shepard's, "It's in the past now. Whatever happened then, you're friends with all of them now."

Sunset's face morphed into a scowl as she tore away from Shepard, "But that doesn't change the fact that it happened."

Shepard sighed as her hand dropped, "No, no it doesn't." Shepard leaned against the table beside Sunset staying silent for a moment before speaking, "I don't think I've told you about Anderson yet."

"No, you haven't," Sunset said crossing her arms.

"He was the guy I mentioned, who pulled me out of my situation," Shepard said running a hand through her hair. "I was about your age and had joined a gang, the Tenth Street Reds. During my time with them, I ended up stealing a military vehicle. I didn't know the thing still had a tracker on it, so I was surprised when Anderson showed up at the warehouse one day." Shepard chuckled, "And then promptly arrested me."

Sunset looked up, eyes wide, "He arrested you?"

Shepard nodded, "Yep, he did. Even took me all the way to the station. But before he took me in he told me something I'll never forget." Shepard stood up and squared her shoulders and pointed the spatula at nothing, "You have a choice now, you can continue down this path and let your past rule you. Or you can make a change and actually do something with your life beyond petty thievery and a quick death for nothing." Shepard leaned back on the table, "Then he gave me a choice. I could let the system deal with me or I could join the JROTC program while under his supervision. At the time I hated him, but I still took the offer. Figured it kept me out of jail and when the time came I could just leave him behind and go back to my old life."

"What does this have to do with me?" Sunset asked.

"I'm getting there," Shepard said waving a hand at the girl. "Anyways, eventually things changed. He wasn't around a lot but when he was he always made time for me. He would check up on me making sure I was doing alright. He was like a father to me. Because of him I eventually joined the military he was still there, encouraging me to do better. When I gained the N7 ranking he was so proud of me." Shepard paused taking a shaky breath, "And I killed him."

Sunset hand went to her mouth as she gasped, "What?"

"We were both on the Citadel trying to activate the Crucible when we ran into a man named Jack Harper, though you might know him as the Illusive Man," Shepard said as Sunset's eyes widened. "Harper was drunk on the power he thought he stole from the Reapers, the power of control. And to prove it he made me shoot Anderson." Shepard paused again and looked down at the ground, "I still remember, my hand moving to point to Anderson and then pulling the trigger, all while I could do nothing but watch, trapped I my own body."

"How… how did you get past that?" Sunset asked.

Shepard snorted, "This is going to sound really cheesy, but… friendship." Sunset rolled her eyes. "It's true, I had my friends to lean on especially Garrus. He wouldn't leave my side till I got out of the hospital." Shepard smiled fondly, "They were my rock for a while, the people I clung to so I would know I still had someone."

Sunset looked away, "I haven't told anyone about this yet. Not even Twilight. I don't know if I can."

Shepard once again gently turned Sunset's face to meet hers, "I'm not going to push you, but I think it'll do you some good to tell someone besides me." Shepard let her hand drop to her side, "Though if you don't feel up to that yet Garrus or myself will be more than willing to talk about anything."

Sunset stared at Shepard for a second before rushing to hug the soldier. Shepard stood shock for a moment before putting her own arms around Sunset. "Thank you," Sunset said.

"You're welcome Sunset," Shepard said tightening the hug.

"Um, Shepard," Sunset said as she attempted to get out of Shepard's hold.

"Oh sorry, too tight?" Shepard asked as she released Sunset.

Sunset shook her head, "No, but I think the bacon's burning."

"What?!" Shepard looked over at the stove to see smoke rising from the pan. "Oh shit!" She rushed over and dumped the bacon onto the plate. She picked up a piece which was blackened on both ends. "Well… I like mine a little extra crispy anyways," She said taking a bite. "Why don't you get the eggs out" Shepard turned back to the stove. "Remember-"

"Middle shelf," Sunset said as she pulled the eggs from the fridge. "I know."

Shepard smirked as she took the eggs, "See you're already learning."

Not from you Commander bacon burner," Sunset said returning Shepard's smirk with one of her own.

Shepard pointed the spatula at Sunset, "I'll have you know people come from all over the galaxy just to try my cooking."

"Right," Sunset rolled her eyes, "Just like they come to see you dance."

Shepard glared at Sunset and tightened the grip on the spatula, "Who told you?"

"No one, I saw a few videos," Sunset said her smirk growing.

"Damn," Shepard said letting the spatula flop down. "I thought I got rid of most of those."

Sunset giggled, "Nope"

Shepard shrugged as she turned back to the stove, "Oh well, at least people are enjoying it." She grabbed four eggs before handing the carton back to Sunset. She started breaking the eggs as she spoke, "So, now that the first video is out of the way, what about the sirens that Princess Twilight told me about?"

"There's not much, whatever Twilight told you was probably accurate," Sunset said closing the fridge.

"The way she put it, you were integral in defeating the sirens," Shepard said.

"I wouldn't say integral," Sunset said once again leaning against the table. "I played a big part yes but-"

"But nothing," Shepard interrupted shaking the spatula at Sunset. "You stop the girls fighting and gave them the extra power they needed to take the sirens down." Shepard turned back to the eggs flipping them. "If I had been there, I would have done my damnedest to get you all medals."

"Really, we were just doing what we had to," Sunset said.

"I know," Shepard said flipping the eggs again. "Still you did save the world, that's nothing to sneeze at."

Sunset nodded, "You're right, we just didn't want to make a big deal over it."

"Understandable," Shepard said with a shrug. "I know plenty of people who don't like that kind of attention." Shepard turned with the frying pan in hand, grabbed a cloth from the drawer before placing the pan on the table. "Grab some more plates from the cupboard. I'm going to make some toast you want some?" Sunset nodded. Shepard grabbed four pieces of bread and stuck them in the toaster. "Anyways, that kind of attention at your age could be a bad thing."

Sunset nodded again placing the plates and bacon on the table, "That's one of the reasons we wanted to keep everything quiet."

Shepard slid over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of ketchup. She turned to meet Sunset's raised eyebrow. "What," She said with a shrug. "I like ketchup, makes everything taste better."

Sunset shook her head, "At least it's not hot sauce on cupcakes."

"Hot sauce on cupcakes?" Shepard's own eyebrow raised. "Let me guess, Pinkie Pie?"

"Yep," Sunset said

The toast popped up with a ding and Shepard grabbed them, "Was she always like that?"

"She's been like that for as long as I've known her," Sunset said taking a seat as Shepard doled out the food. "She's really very sweet, however. I'm pretty sure she's memorized the entire school's birthdays 'cause she always gives people cupcakes on them."

"Wow that's nice of her," Shepard said as she sat down herself. She placed her eggs on the toast along with the bacon. Ketchup followed along with the other piece of toast. She then took a big bite chewing as she thought. "By the way when is your birthday?" She asked after swallowing.

"Oh, during the summer late July early August I think," Sunset said before taking a bite of her bacon.

"You think?" Shepard said.

"Equestria has different months then here," Sunset said.

"Fair enough, August tenth sound god?" Shepard asked taking another bite.

"August tenth?"

"That's the date we put on your birth certificate," Shepard said shrugging.

"My… What?" Sunset said brow furrowing.

"What? Did you think we weren't going to do anything about you not being in the system," Shepard said taking another bite. "Liara cooked up some document for you and we put August tenth, twenty-one ninety as your birthdate. Congratulations you are officially sixteen years old."

"Um, thanks," Sunset took a bite of her eggs. "Though now Pinkie's going to want to throw a party here."

"I'd be glad to host it," Shepard said with a smile. "Speaking of parties, I invited Princess Twilight along with us on Saturday. Is that ok"

"That sounds great," Sunset said with a smile of her own. "It'll be good to see her again."

"Good," Shepard Omni-tool went off. She lifted her arm up and an orange glow appeared as she looked at the display. "Garrus should have been up by now. It's almost time for him to go to work." Shepard stood before turning to Sunset, an evil grin adorning her face, "Say, how loud does that amp of yours go?"

"Why would you," Sunset stopped her eyes widening. An evil grin of her own stretched across her face to match Shepards. "Loud enough," Sunset said sharing a dark chuckle with Shepard.

13


	7. Chapter 7: Journey to the Citadel

The spaceport gleamed in the sunlight, towering above the street. Shuttles and aircars came and went in a seemingly random pattern and various people milled about too absorbed in the device to look up. Those that did, though, were greeted with the unusual sit of the Savior of the Galaxy and her husband surrounded by a group of high school girls. They all stared up enraptured by the spectacle above them.

"Wow," One of the girls said. She was dress in a button-down shirt and a purple skirt which flared up as spun trying to take in all she could. "I know I read about things like this but it's so much more impressive up close."

"I know what you mean Twilight," Sunset said chuckling at the awestruck girl. "When I saw my first aircar I had a similar reaction."

"It is amazing," Twilight stopped spinning and was simply gazing up at the spaceport now her brow furrowed in concentration. "I wonder if their technological advancement is just because they don't have magic?"

"That's probably part of it," Sunset replied placing a hand on her chin. "They've also had a lot longer to advance then Equestria has."

"War is also a factor," Liara said stepping up next to Sunset. "I don't know how it is in Equestria, Princess Twilight, but a common theme amongst most of the species that gained spaceflight on their own is conflict. It drove them to come up with new ways to do things. Whether that was to transport troops, better medical technology, or just simply a better gun. War and conflict have driven a lot of the advancements in those fields."

"I suppose, Equestria hasn't seen a full-blown war in over a thousand years," Twilight said turning to the asari. She gave Liara a wide smile, "And please, it's just Twilight. I'm here with friends."

"Of course, Twilight," Liara said with a smile of her own. "I am just used to using titles from my upbringing."

"Yeah, it took forever for you to just call me Shepard even," Shepard said with a chuckle as she sidled up to the three of them. "It was always Commander this and Commander that."

"Forgive me for showing my commanding officer the proper respect, _Admiral,_ " Liara said crossing her arms.

"I haven't been your commander officer for twenty years, _Doctor,_ " Shepard said crossing her arms as well.

They stared each other down for a moment, neither of them willing to give into the other. Finally, the tension was broken when Garrus stepped between them, "Alright ladies, you're both pretty, no need to fight.

Shepard and Liara shared a smirk before turning to Garrus. "Why don't you settle it for us then?" They said in unison.

Garrus quickly backtracked holding up his talons in surrender, "No thanks I don't need any new scars."

Shepard and Liara both laughed loudly. When they had settled down Shepard sauntered over to Garrus to plant a kiss on his mandible. Good choice big guy," She said patting his chest.

Garrus coughed into his talon as he turned to the rest of the group who were all giggling slightly. "Anyway, have any of you been to the Citadel before?" He asked.

The girl's answers varied from a silent shake of their heads to mumbled words. Pinkie, however, bounded forward. "Yep! The Cakes go there to pick up their dextro supplies for the bakery I sometimes go with them and it's so much fun meeting all the different species I even befriended a krogan on time and-," Pinkie was cut off by Sunset who had managed to wrap an arm around the girls waist and place a hand over her mouth.

"That's great Pinkie but I think you're scaring him," Sunset said throwing Garrus an apologetic look.

Garrus gave a bemused chuckle at the scene, "It's alright, I've dealt with crazier than a hyperactive girl before."

"Kasumi," Shepard said with a smirk.

"Kasumi," Garrus agreed.

Liara shook her head, "Kasumi isn't that bad guys."

"Says the one who befriended her the quickest," Shepard turned to Liara. "Honestly, you two met than two minutes later you were best friends, what was up with that?"

Liara turned away from Shepard, sticking her nose in the air slightly, "We just got each other Shepard." She then turned back to Shepard with an evil smirk. "Besides considering how fast you and Garrus clicked you should not be complaining about how quick I make friends," Shepard grumbled something unintelligible as she turned away from Liara who now sported a victorious smirk.

"Well, now with that awkwardness out of the way," Garrus chimed in clapping his talons together to gain everyone's attention. "Since most of you haven't been to the Citadel before, we'll probably be stopped at the security checkpoint. I wouldn't worry about it, it's just standard procedure for new visitors."

Twilight raised her hand though lowered it when both Shepard and Sunset gave her incredulous looks. "Really Twilight we're not in school no need to raise your hand just say what's on your mind."

"Right, um well, how is that going to work with Sunset and me?" Twilight asked rubbing her hands together. "I mean with us being from… out of town so to speak?"

"After we finished talking that night, I took the liberty of creating documents for you," Liara chimed in. "You are now Twilight Sparkle, a student from one of the human colonies visiting some friend you made on the extranet. I already created documents for Sunset, so it was really no trouble."

"Oh! Thank you then," Twilight said a bright smile adorning her face.

"Besides that, if there are any issues, I'll help smooth things over. Being the Executor of C-sec does have its privileges," Garrus said.

"Thank you both then," Twilight said again with a slight nod of her head.

"Alright come on," Shepard said as she pointed to the spaceport. "Let's get this part over with so we can get on to the fun stuff."

With that, they all headed into the spaceport. Garrus and Shepard lead the way and five of the girls followed closely behind. Sunset, Twilight, and Liara lagged behind a bit continuing their discussion from earlier in hushed tones.

After a short check through with security, they all managed to gather on the shuttle heading to the Citadel. The girls were all gathered by one the windows watching as the shuttle lifted off and quickly made it through the atmosphere. They all oooh'd and aaah'd as the stars, invisible in the daylight, appeared in a field that stretched on endlessly. The moon hung in the starry field seemingly close enough to touch.

"This is… amazing, awe-inspiring," Twilight said her face nearly pressed to the glass in her excitement.

"Yeah, it's pretty great isn't it," Sunset said from beside her.

"Great doesn't even begin to describe it," Twilight turned to Sunset gesturing at the window. "You do realize this makes us the first of pony kind to reach space without magic?"

Sunset leaned her back onto the window sticking her hands in her pockets, "Yeah, but to the people here this is all old hat."

"That don' make it any less amazin' though," Applejack interjected tipping her hat back on her head. "I never thought I'd get ta go ta the Citadel."

"Yeah kinda strange how quickly things change isn't it?" Sunset said turning back to the window a small frown on her face.

"A little, but Ah think we're all grateful for the change," Applejack said.

"I for one, cannot wait to see the Citadel," Rarity said her eyes bright with excitement. "Just imagine, all those cultures, the fashion. I simply cannot wait to see some of the asari dressmakers." She placed a hand on her chin, "I always wanted to design something for an asari, they're all so elegant I just know I could design something truly magnificent for one."

Liara stepped up beside Rarity, "You know I've been needing something different to add to my wardrobe for a while. And I hate going to the asari dressmakers. They are all so…" Liara spun her hand in a circle as she searched for a word.

"Stuffy?" Shepard offered with a smirk. "Uptight? Boring?"

"Old-fashioned," Liara said a smirk of her own adorning her face. "I don't suppose you would be willing to make something for me? I would pay you of course."

Rarity's eyes had grown bigger during this short exchange and her hands on either side of her face. With a barely suppressed girlish squeal she started talking, "Oh my goodness, Darling I would absolutely love to make a dress for you. I have so many ideas already. Maybe a nice baby blue, or a dark red to contrast." Rarity started circling Liara who staid still as the purple haired girl prowled around her, like a cat about to pounce on its prey. "Hmmm, yes, I think that could work, I'll have to get the fabric and take your measurements of course."

Liara coughed into her hand gaining Rarity's attention, "I assume you have an omni-tool?"

Rarity nodded and lifted her arm. The orange glow of the omni-tool adding a soft light to Rarity's features as it lit up. "Of course, I do, They're pretty much mandatory at the school now."

"Good, do you have an account for credit's then as well?" Liara asked. At Rarity's nod, Liara activated her own omni-tool. After a few moments with the only sound being the sound of Liara's omni tool beeping at her as she typed away she spoke again, "I've sent you my extranet address as well as transferred some credits to your account. Feel free to message me when you are ready to take measurements and I'll let you know when I'm available."

Rarity looked down at her omni-tool and tapped a few buttons. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at her screen, "Ha…ba…wha?"

"What wrong Rares?" Applejack asked looking concerned at her friend's speechlessness.

Rainbow Dash peeked over Rarity's shoulder. Her eyes widened as she looked at the display, "Holy crap." Rainbow looked up at Liara her eyes still wide, "You sure you want to give her _that_ much?"

Liara smiled and nodded, "Of course, considered it an investment in an up and coming business."

Rarity looked up at the asari as well, "I can't possibly accept-,"

"Yes, you can," Liara said with a pointed look at Rarity. "I have more than enough money to last several asari lifetimes. I'd rather invest my money into people like you where the only thing I expect in return is to watch them flourish into something amazing than in some company where all I'd get back was more money that I have no use for."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to put this to good use," Rarity said closing her omni-tool and dropping her arm to her side.

Shepard stepped up beside Liara, "That was very humanitarian of you Liara."

"Please Shepard, you think you're the only one of us that can be generous," Liara said with a wave of her hand.

Shepard laughed, "Of course not, just wasn't expecting you to fund a kid's dream like this."

"And what exactly do you think I do at Grissom Academy?" Liara said with a raised eyebrow. "It's my job to nurture kids dreams, this is just a more direct approach than usual."

"We're almost there," Garrus said interrupting the two women.

The girls all gathered at the window again. There was a metallic structure in the distance its four different arms being barely visible to the naked eye. "It almost looks like another moon from here," Twilight said.

"That's no moon," Pinkie said with a gravely, accented voice. The girls all started giggling and Shepard snorted with a barely suppressed laugh. Garrus, Liara, and Twilight stared at them with bewilderment written on their faces.

"Um… why is that so funny? Twilight asked.

"Some human thing I'm sure," Garrus said with amusement.

"Wait, did I never show you that flic?" Shepard said pointing at Garrus. "Oh, man Joker is gonna kill me."

"Oh, we should have a movie night tonight," Pinkie said bouncing up and down from excitement "We could get popcorn and blankets and get you guys caught up with human movies."

"Does it really count as 'catching up' if the movie is over a hundred years old?" Sunset said.

"Of course, silly," Pinkie said with a nod of her head. "We gotta get them caught up with the good movies."

"Guys, come on you're missing the best part," Rainbow said from next to the window. The Citadel was closer now. They could make out all the lights emanating from the four arms and could even see the larger ships as the flew about. The Destiny Ascension floated in the middle of the four arms. Even though bigger and better ships had come out since the construction of the massive ship, it was still updated constantly and continued to be the flagship of the Citadel fleet.

The shuttle continued its approach, making its way to the upper district near the Presidium. There was a shudder as the mass effect field of the Citadel enveloped the shuttle enforcing its artificial gravity on the small craft. A female voice called out in the shuttle's cabin, "Now docking, Presidium, please disembark in an orderly fashion and enjoy your stay on the Citadel." A thump signaled that they had docked safely.

"Welp that's our cue," Shepard said stretching her back before pointing the door that was opening. "Let's roll out crew."

Pinkie giggled then said, "Aye, aye Shepard prime, pony bots rollout." She pointed out the door as well then started walking, making mechanical noises along the way. The girls all giggled except for Twilight who stared at the spectacle.

Garrus came up behind her and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry Liara and I are just as confused."

"Good to know I'm not alone in this," Twilight said placing a hand on her forehead. "Humans are just so confusing sometime."

Garrus nodded sagely, "I hear you there. Hell, I'm married to one and they still confuse me sometimes." Garrus gestured out the open door. "We should probably get going, we got a whole day ahead of us."

Twilight nodded, and they made their way into the docking area. Like the spaceport from before, various people milled about conducting their own business. An asari stood at a help desk talking with a couple of turians and a human and salarian were talking animatedly nearby. A pair of C-sec officers stood by the door leading into the Citadel proper as a group of humans walked through all laughing at some unheard joke.

A loud booming voice called out startling the girls, "Shepard!" A large krogan wearing red armor stomped over to the group giving off a large smile.

"Wrex!" Shepard said holding her arms out wide. They collided with the krogan lifting her off the ground in a large hug his deep laugh reverberating even in the large space.

"What are you doing here Shepard?" Wrex said after setting the soldier down.

"Just giving the newbie the official Shepard tour," She said gesturing to Sunset and her friends.

"I didn't know you took up babysitting Shepard," Wrex grunted out. "If I had I would have dropped off Mordin and the others a long time ago."

"Nothing like that Wrex," Shepard said with a dismissive wave. "We just took in Sunset here and we thought it would be good to get out and bond a little with her and her friends."

Wrex turned to stare at Sunset with one eye. Sunset gave a hesitant smile but stood her ground against the krogan glaring at her. "Hmmph, she don't seem like much," Wrex said after a moment.

"Hey that's my friend you're talking about," Rainbow said taking a defensive stance next to Sunset.

There was a tense silence as Wrex stared down at the rainbow-haired girl before him. Suddenly a deep chuckle emanated from the krogan's throat, "I guess you must have something then if you inspire that kind of loyalty in your friends." Wrex moved in front of the two girls towering over them, he patted Rainbow on the back nearly toppling the girl over, "And good job standing up to me, most humans don't even have the guts to stand near me. Keep that spirit it'll serve you and your krant well."

"Uh thanks," Rainbow said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What's your name runt," Wrex grunted as he gestured his head towards Rainbow.

"Rainbow Dash," She said proudly puffing up her chest and giving the krogan a confident smirk.

"Hmph, suits you I suppose," Wrex turned to the rest of the girls. "And what about the rest of you. You got names or is stunned silence the only thing you know how to do?"

Pinkie leaped forward bouncing in place in front of the krogan as she spoke, "Oh, Oh, my names Pinkie Pie do you like parties, cake, oh do you know a krogan named Grunt I met him here a while ago and we really hit it off." Pinkie's tirade was silenced when Wrex placed his enormous hand on top of her head calming her down immediately.

"You talk too much," Wrex said as he released the hyper girl. "And when did you meet my best soldier."

"Oh, it was a few months ago," Pinkie said scratching her head in thought. "We ended up getting arrested by C-sec something about weapons on the Citadel, apparently they didn't like my party cannon."

Wrex laughed loudly as Garrus groaned, "I remember that day, that was a lot of paperwork."

"Sorry," Pinkie said with an uneasy smile. "I didn't mean to cause trouble, I was just trying to show Grunt what an earth party was like."

"Hehe, I would have paid to see that," Wrex nodded his massive head at Pinkie whose smile brightened considerably.

Applejack stepped up next, "Howdy Ah'm Applejack." She extended her arm which Wrex grasped firmly in a krogan handshake. "And ta save some time, the girl with the purple hair is Rarity, Fluttershy is the one hiding behind her hair, and Twilight is the one looking like she wants to dissect ya."

"What! No, I don't," Twilight gestured frantically with her hands, eyes wide. "I've just never seen a krogan before, I was fascinated nothing else, honest."

Another deep chuckled came from the krogan, "As long as you don't actually dissect me I think we'll be ok."

"Right no, of course not," Twilight said with a nervous laugh. "I wouldn't dream of doing that to anypo- one no matter what I could discover."

"Then you have more morals than most salarians," Wrex said crossing his arms.

"Uh thanks, though I'm sure there are plenty of salarian with a conscience," Twilight said same nervous smile.

"There was only one that I know of, and he's dead," Wrex said.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Twilight said with genuine concern.

"He died a good death," Wrex said with a nod. "He died fighting for our future, he will always be remembered for his sacrifice."

"Considering you named your first child after him I think you definitely accomplished that," Shepard said. "Anyway, as fun as it is watching you scare a bunch of high schoolers, we've got a long day ahead of us." She tilted her sunglasses down, so she could look over them at Wrex. "Unless you want to join us?"

"No thanks Shepard, you seem to have your hands full as it is," Wrex turned back to Shepard giving her a large grin. "Besides I've got things I need to get back to."

"Alrighty then, see ya later Wrex," Shepard said with a grin of her own.

"See you later Shepard," Wrex said turning to leave.

"So, what are Liara and I chopped varren meat?" Garrus said his arms wide.

"Heh you might look better as chopped varren, Vakarian, tastier too," Wrex gave Garrus a wide smile showing off his teeth. "Liara I'll see you later too."

Liara tilted her head at the krogan, "Of course Wrex it was good seeing you again."

Wrex nodded to the asari and walked off leaving the group to themselves. "Well with that bit of excitement over I say we get on with the day," Shepard said. They all nodded and walked together through the door.


	8. Chapter 8: the Citadel

"Welcome to the Presidium," Shepard said spinning in place to gesture to as much as she could. "Shopping's that way," She pointed to some open stalls with various people milling about. "Boring people are that way," She pointed this time to a walled off section with a few C-sec officers standing guard. "And all the really fun stuff is down a few levels," she finished with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "So, what do we want to do first?"

"I wanna see the fun stuff," Rainbow said running a hand through her hair. "Shopping really isn't my style."

"But shopping is fun Rainbow darling," Rarity said with a casual flick of her wrist. "Especially when done in good company."

"Knowing you Rarity, you'd probably try and get me into a frou-frou dress or something," Rainbow shuddered at the thought. "No thank you."

"Ah agree with Rainbow here," Applejack said gesturing at Rainbow. "Shopping fur dresses ain't really mah thing."

Rarity's cheeks puffed up as she stared at her two defiant friends, "Well I suppose if you really don't want to spend time with me." She spun and nabbed Fluttershy linking her arm with the thoroughly startled girl. "At least Fluttershy still likes me, right,"

Fluttershy's eyes widen as the group's attention was suddenly on her. "Oh…my… I…I… do I have to choose," Fluttershy's voice dropped off as she spoke the last part barely making itself heard.

"Now look what ya done Rarity, ya gone an' traumatized the poor girl," Applejack pointed at Fluttershy who was doing her best impression of a tree.

As Rarity opened her mouth to retort Shepard leaned over to Sunset and spoke in a hushed whisper, "Are they always like this?"

Sunset giggled, "Yeah, pretty much. They never mean anything by it though. I think it's just fun for them mostly."

Twilight leaned in as well to add her thought," It's the same back in Equestria. They'll argue and bicker almost nonstop." Twilight crossed her arms smiling at the girls still locked in their heated debate. "But when you really need them…"

"They pull it together and are almost unstoppable," Sunset finished a smile matching Twilights on her face for a moment before it slowly faded. "Usually at least." A frown formed on Twilight's face as she stared at the now melancholy girl. She opened her mouth to speak when Sunset put up a hand. "I'm fine Twilight really, somethings just take time to heal."

Twilight's eyes shined with concern, but she nodded and backed down from the conversation. "I suppose that's true. Took a while to recover from the Canterlot wedding fiasco."

"Come on how bad could a wedding be?" Shepard asked. Both Sunset and Twilight rose an eyebrow at the soldier who quickly rethought her statement. "Right, magical land of having an invasion every other week… never mind."

Sunset and Twilight giggled at Shepard. "Love hungry bugs from tartarus aside," Twilight said pointedly ignoring the look of interest from Shepard and Garrus. "I would suggest we split up for the morning then meet for lunch."

"That's a sound plan," Liara interjected. "I would be willing to take those interested in shopping."

"Alright then, listen up," Shepard now stern voice spread over the group stopping the bickering. "Anyone who wants to shop go with Liara," Shepard gestured to the asari. "Anyone who wants to do other things you'll be with Garrus and I. Sound good to every one."

The girls nodded and quickly split up. Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity banded around Liara while Sunset, Rainbow and Applejack grouped around Shepard and Garrus. As each group went their separate ways Rainbow spoke up, "Sooo what kinda fun things are down below?"

"Oh, there's the usual, bars, movie theatres, arcades, shooting ranges," Shepard tick off each item on one hand as she spoke.

"A shooting' range?" Applejack said perking up at the words.

"Really AJ you're interested in a shooting range," Rainbow snickered behind her hand.

"Ah'll have ya know that Ah'm the best shot in the whole apple family," Applejack said pride edging into her voice.

"Puhlease AJ, I could shoot better then you with an arm tied behind my back," Rainbow crossed her arms an arrogant smirk on her face.

Applejack tipped her hat down and turned to face Rainbow with a smirk of her own, "That sounds like a challenge sugarcube."

Rainbow's own smirk grew, "You're on."

"Looks like we're going to the shooting range then," Sunset said shaking her head at the two girls.

"Have you ever fired a gun before?" Garrus asked Sunset as they entered a small alcove with a row of elevator doors. Shepard activated one of the panels then turned around to face the rest of them.

"I've gone shooting with AJ before," Sunset said

"And you're a pretty good shot too," AJ said clapping a hand on Sunset's shoulders. "Ya could probably be a decent marksman if ya put your mind to it."

"I could give you a few pointers," Garrus' head raised mandibles flared. "I was the best shot on the Normandy."

Shepard rolled her eyes, "Keep telling yourself that big guy." The elevator doors opened and the group got on.

"I seem to remember a certain missed bottle," Garrus said as he hit the inside panel to take them to the right floor.

"That 'missed bottle' was twenty years ago," Shepard crossed her arms. "Sometimes Garrus its best to let things go." Garrus harrumphed at that as the doors slid shut.

The rest of the trip to the shooting range was uneventful. Shepard and Garrus bickered most of the way as did Applejack and Rainbow. Shepard used her Spectre status to gain entry to a private shooting range, so they wouldn't be disturbed.

Applejack and Rainbow quickly picked up their guns and started firing downrange with Shepard joining in with them. Garrus grabbed a gun as well as he and Sunset went to the other side of the range.

"You said you've shot before, right?" Garrus asked as the weapon unfolded.

"Yeah, I have,"

"Then what's the most important rule when handling a gun?" Garrus asked looking down at Sunset.

"Don't point your gun at anything ya don't want to shoot, even if it's not loaded," Sunset said doing a passable imitation of the apple accent.

"Good," Garrus handed the rifle to Sunset. It was an older blocky design, with vents on the top portion of the barrel shroud and a distinctly human-sized grip. "This is the M-97 Viper, one of Shepard favorites." Garrus looked at the weapon disdainfully. "I personally prefer something with a little kick, but this will be perfect for some teaching."

Sunset nodded and approached the counter. Garrus followed, directing Sunset to a stool. "Sit there and pull out the bipod," He gestured to the end of the rifle. "Whenever you're ready to go ahead and fire."

Sunset nodded and took her place on the stool. Once she had the bipod out and stabilized she peeked down the scope. The target was only about a football fields length away, which, with the scope didn't seem like too great a distance. Sunset closed one of her eyes and stuck her tongue out as she sighted in on the target.

Three loud bangs sounded out causing Sunset's ears to ring, "Shouldn't we have ear protection?" She asked rubbing her ears slightly as she stood up.

"If you want some, but most weapons no a days aren't loud enough to cause damage," Garrus hit a button on the counter causing the target to appear in front of them. It was a holographic target with a blacked out human silhouette and red markers to show where the shooter had hit.

Sunset's shots were scattered across the target. The first shot hit the center of the chest with the next one landing an inch or two above and to the right of that. The last shot landed just above the right shoulder, outside the target area.

Garrus examined the target a moment before speaking, "Not terrible, needs some recoil control."

Sunset rolled her shoulder as she stared at the target a small frown on her face, "How do I do that?"

"Slowing down," Garrus reset the target and gestured back to the rifle. "Go ahead and take your position I'll guide you this time." Sunset nodded and sat back down on the stool settling the rifle against her shoulder.

"Make sure the stock is tight against your shoulder," Sunset adjusted slightly digging the stock against her jacket causing it to squeak. "Now breathe slowly, and make sure to pause for a moment after you exhale." Sunset's breathing slowed down as she sighted the target. "When you're ready I want you to squeeze the trigger after you exhale during that pause."

Sunset continued breathing and after a moment she fired another loud bang splitting the air.

"Again," Garrus said.

Another shot rang out.

"Last time."

The last shot sounded out and Sunset let the rifle lay on the counter as she rolled her shoulder again, "I didn't hurt this time."

"Good," Garrus pulled up the target to get a closer look. While the shots were still a few centimeters away from each other none of the shots had strayed off target this time. "Very good." Sunset smiled at the praise. "You want to keep going or are you finished for now?" Sunset flashed a confident smirk at Garrus before settling back with the rifle. "Alright then let's keep going," Garrus reset the target and gave Sunset a few more pointers. They continued like this for thirty minutes, switching to different weapons throughout, before Shepard walked over and cut them off saying she had an idea for some teambuilding for the kids.

"What is this place?" Rainbow asked staring around at the various screens showing off battles that were going on now.

"The Armax Arsenal Arena," Garrus said looking around the people crowding the space. "My sister actually runs this place, turned it into more than just entertainment. It now supports private simulations for those wishing to simply improve themselves instead of performing for a crowd."

"We still do that, and it still draws a lot of people in," A female turian sauntered up to them a confident smirk on her mandibles.

"Anyone beat my score yet?" Shepard asked

"By the spirits no," The turian laughed. "No ones come close yet except for when Kaiden and James went at it."

Shepard laughed giving the turian a quick hug before the turn to face the group, "This Solana Garrus' sister."

"Yours as well Allana," Solana said looking fondly at the human. "You're the best thing that could happen to my brother. Made him somewhat respectable."

"Hey, I'm respectable."

"Tell that to all of your commanders," Solana smirk grew as Garrus grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that dear?" Shepard asked staring intently and Garrus. "Were you possibly saying something against your dear sweat sister here." Sheard pouted as she stood not to Solana who was barely containing her mirth at Garrus fearful expression.

Garrus was saved by another voice calling out. "Shepard?" They turned to find an asari dressed in a white and gold floor length dress. "It is you, I wasn't expecting to see today admiral," the asari said a small smile adorning her lips.

"Sha'ira! How have you been?" Shepard asked arms spread wide in greeting.

"I have been well Admiral," Sha'ira said. She looked at the three girls surround Shepard with a raised eyebrow. "And who might your charges be?"

"Ah well we got Applejack," Shepard pointed at the cowgirl who gave a tip of her hat. "Rainbow Dash."

"Sup," Dash said hands in her pockets eyeing the asari.

"And Sunset," Shepard gestured at Sunset who waved her hand.

Sha'ira's gaze lingered on Sunset for a moment before she spoke, "It is a pleasure to meet you all, though I am surprised to find the Admiral with you."

"Yeah, well Garrus and I are helping Sunset here," Shepard placed her hands on Sunset's shoulders. "We thought it would be a good idea to show her the Citadel and get to know each other a little better as well as her friends."

"How very noble of you Admiral," Sha'ira said her eyes wandering over to Sunset again. "Though it is a little curious."

Shepard's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"As you know my job a Consort has led me to meet many soldiers in my time," Sha'ira smiled lightly. "Even a good number of human's come through my door, including a Captain Ardent Shimmer." Shepard and Garrus both looked at each other with worried looks. Sunset meanwhile had visibly gasped hand flying to her mouth as the name was spoken. "I've heard some many stories about his daughter, even met her more than a few times," Sha'ira looked over Sunset again. "I believe her name is Sunset Shimmer?"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped in front of Sunset who was still staring at the asari tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Shepard stepped forward as well, "Sha'ira there is an explanation-"

Shepard was cut off by a soft, shaky voice, "He's… alive?" they all turned to look and Sunset. Her hands had fallen to her sides as she gazed up at Sha'ira eyes full of longing. "He's alive… here?"

Sha'ira eyes wandered over the girl taking in her appearance fully, "You aren't the Sunset Shimmer that I know are you?" Sunset shook her head. "Ardent is a good friend of mine. I believe he fought in the Reaper War as the Captain of the Lancaster, and yes he is currently alive."

"Of course," Sunset looked down to the ground and clenched her fist. "Of course, he's alive here." Applejack placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder which sunset shrugged off. "I'm fine," She growled out.

Shepard watched the exchange her eyes filled with worry. "Garrus, why don't you and Solana take the girls here to one of the simulation rooms, I'll explain things here to Sha'ira," Shepard looked at Garrus who nodded back. "Why don't we go over there," Shepard pointed to an empty booth style table towards the back as the two turians lead the three girls away.

"This is one of our sim rooms," Solana said as she opened the door to a medium-sized room. There were Some chairs scattered around the room and a big viewing screen that covered an entire wall. A door next to the wall led into the actual simulation rooms. "Now we can do a usual sim were you three faces down waves of opponents or you can face each other."

Applejack and Rainbow both grinned at one another before turning to Solana, "We'll go against each other," They said in unison.

Sunset looked up at the pair before simply nodding and looking back down to the ground. The turians shared a nervous look before Garrus stepped forward.

"I'll get you three kitted out while Solana sets up the sim," He said corralling the girls to the door as Solana opened up a terminal and started typing, the screen behind her lighting up as power flooded the room.

Sunset turned to Solana just before she entered the gear room, "Are these sims private?"

"Yes, they are, the Shadow Broker wouldn't be able to break through our security," Solana said leaving out the fact that she had contracted Liara to design the security for these rooms.

Sunset's expression hardened, "Good."

"That's a lot to take in Shepard," Sha'ira said. They were walking now away from the both they had been sitting. "If that story had come from anyone else I wouldn't believe it."

"I understand," Shepard bobbed her head. "Quite frankly I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."

"Something like this does require some amount of evidence," They stopped at a door leading into one of the sim rooms. "Though seeing Sunset like that is proof enough for me."

"What do you mean," Shepard had stopped just as she was about to open the door and look at Sha'ira brow furrowed.

Sha'ira sighed, "I've known miss Shimmer for a while now. She a wonderful girl, full of life and energy." Sha'ira smiled, "She wants to be a musician like her mother." The smile turned to a frown, "I don't think I've ever seen her look at me with so much sadness it was shocking, to say the least."

"From what I understand Sunset has been through a lot," Shepard paused taking a moment to collect herself. "From what little she says about herself, I can tell there's a lot more she's bottling up."

"That's never healthy, especially for one as young as her," Sha'ira brought a hand to her chin. "It would be good for her to 'let off some steam' as you humans say."

Shepard nodded then opened the door to find Garrus and Solana staring slack-jawed at the screen in front of them. Their head whipped around at the sound of Shepard and Sha'ira entering.

"What?" Shepard asked stretching out the word as she stared at the turians shocked faces.

They didn't answer. Instead, Garrus gestured to the screen in front of them. It was split into four screens. A large section on top showed the entire field of battle. The camera angles would change as the combatants moved across the field but that feature wasn't being used right now as the combatants weren't moving enough.

The battlefield looked like an old roadway. Concrete roadblocks and broken aircars were scattered around. A turret was stationed at one side of the road and was currently in use.

The other three screens showed the combatants individually. Both Rainbow and Applejack were hiding behind a low wall that was constantly being bombarded by weapons fire. Sunset meanwhile had found the turret and was using it to keep the other two pinned.

"The hell happened?" Shepard shouted.

"Things were going well enough," Solana said turning her head back to the screen. "The blond and the rainbow-haired one were going at each other while Sunset stayed off to the side taking potshots at them."

"Then I think Rainbow said something," Garrus interjected. "Because the next second Sunset had them both backed into a corner. They rallied but then Sunset found the turret, it's been like this ever since, she's not letting up." Shepard's hand smacked her face while Sha'ira watched the one-sided battle intently.

Applejack's comm burst to life, "Now ya done it Crash."

"Hey! I was just trying to get her involved," Rainbow peaked over her cover then ducked back down as bullets tore into it. "How was I supposed to know she go she-demon on us again."

Silence followed that statement. Even the turret fire had stopped. Rainbow and Applejack shared a nervous look before peaking over the cover together. The turret was abandoned and Sunset was nowhere in sight. "Ah take it back, now ya done it," Applejack said.


End file.
